Colleges With the Wealthiest Students: Facts and Statistics

By

Jane Nam

Updated on February 18, 2025

Edited by

Jessica Bryant

• Fact checked by Marley Rose

Learn more about our editorial process

At the country’s wealthiest colleges, less than 5% of students come from low-income families.

Credit: Maskot / Getty Images

Where do the top 1% send their kids to college? Turns out, many of the same schools.

According to tax filings and analyses of schools’ student populations, up to 26% of some institutions’ student bodies come from the wealthiest 1% of families in the U.S.^{Note Reference [1]} Some schools enroll as much as 84% of their students from the top 20% of family income earners.^{Note Reference [2]}

The majority of these institutions, which are overwhelmingly top-ranked, highly selective schools, enroll few low-income learners — 5% or less.

In this report, we take a closer look at colleges with the wealthiest students.

Behind the Numbers

The family incomes in this report are based on the figures reported by the Upshot, a subsidiary of The New York Times focused on data. The dollars reported are older — based on students who enrolled in 2009. The dollars were then converted into 2015 dollars.

While the dollar amounts are older, studies show that access to elite institutions has remained relatively stagnant over decades.^{Note Reference [3]} Accessed September 2024. Though a more current, comprehensive study on how family income affects college access is unavailable, this makes the data we have still very much relevant.

Colleges With the Wealthiest Students

Trinity College tops the list of schools with the highest percentage of students from the wealthiest families.^{Note Reference [1]} In 2013, the institution enrolled 26% of its students from the top 1%. Just 3% of its student population came from families in the bottom 20% of earners.^{Note Reference [1]}

• Out of some of the most highly selective schools, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) had the highest percentage of low-income students from the bottom 20% of family income earners at 8.3%.^{Note Reference [5]}
• Only 1% of Washington University students who came from low-income families went on to become wealthy adults, highlighting barriers to economic mobility.^{Note Reference [2]}

Many of these institutions additionally had high percentages of students from the top 1% of income earners. This did not necessarily mean, however, that they also had the highest percentage of students from the top 20% of income earners.

For example, Trinity College had the highest percentage of students from the top 1% of family earners but enrolled 75% of its students from the top 20%, whereas 84% of Washington University in St. Louis’ study body is made up of students from the top 20% of families. Over 1 in 5 WashU students (22%) are also from the top 1%.

Ivy Leagues With the Wealthiest Students

There appears to be a strong correlation between median family income and an individual’s income as an adult. This was true across graduates from all schools, however, especially true for graduates of Ivy League institutions.

Overall, Ivy League graduates tend to earn the most as adults and come from families with the highest median family incomes while enrolled.^{Note Reference [3]}

• The median family income of Harvard students’ families was $168,000 for the class of 2013, and Harvard graduates went on to make a median income of $81,500 or a combined household median income of $163,000, assuming they married an individual with a matching income amount.^{Note Reference [3]}
• By the time they were 34 years old, graduates of the University of Pennsylvania had the highest median income at $91,800 individually, or $183,600 combined. This was consistent with their families’ median income of $195,500 when they enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania.^{Note Reference [3]}

Wealthiest Ivy League Students by Loans, Grants, and Debt

Federal loans and Pell Grants, while not perfect indicators of student wealth, can still offer some insight into the financial backgrounds of a college’s student population.

Harvard University had the smallest percentage of students receiving federal loans in 2022-2023, at 3%.4 During the same academic year, just 3% of Princeton University students also received federal loans. However, the institution’s high percentage of students receiving income-based Pell Grants places it second to Harvard for wealthy students.^{Note Reference [4]}

The median earnings of former students who received federal financial aid 10 years after enrollment were $53,730 for all four-year schools and $40,600 for all schools.^{Note Reference [4]} For Ivy Plus graduates this figure was two times higher at roughly $97,380.

Why does monthly loan payment matter?

The monthly loan payment amount can give you a better idea of how your debt can affect your budget post-graduation. It is an easier figure to plan around than the total debt, which just represents the total you owe.

Does the School You Go to Matter?

The education you receive can make a difference in salary: College can be an avenue of social mobility for some graduates.

According to The Equal Opportunity Project, the colleges that moved students from low- or middle-income families to the top 1% were almost exclusively Ivy Plus schools and other highly selective institutions.^{Note Reference [8]}

For example, the chance that a student from the bottom 20% of families in terms of income can move up to become an adult in the top 20% of earners is:^{Note Reference [3]}

• 54% at Washington University St. Louis.
• 27% at Reed College, where upward mobility percentages are the lowest of all highly selective institutions.
• 59% at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University.
• Between 45% and 67% at Ivy League schools.
• 67% at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• 58% at Harvard University.

In an interview with the New York Times, Dr. Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist and the director of Opportunity Insights, poses the question, “Are these highly selective private colleges in America taking kids from very high-income, influential families and basically channeling them to remain at the top in the next generation?”

“Flipping that question on its head, could we potentially diversify who’s in a position of leadership in our society by changing who is admitted?”^{Note Reference [9]}

In other words, data strongly suggests that getting students from low-income families into highly selective institutions is one way to move them into positions of influence and authority. Elite colleges do not have to serve as exclusive pathways to future wealth solely for children of wealthy families.

References

1. Economic Diversity and Student Outcomes at Trinity College (Conn.). The Upshot. The New York Times. Accessed September 2024.
2. Economic Diversity and Student Outcomes at Washington University in St. Louis. The Upshot. The New York Times. Accessed September 2024.
3. Economic Diversity and Student Outcomes at Harvard University. The Upshot. The New York TImes. Accessed September 2024.
4. Harvard University. College Scorecard. U.S. Department of Education. Accessed September 2024.
5. Economic Diversity and Student Outcomes at University of California, Los Angeles. The Upshot. The New York Times. Accessed September 2024.
6. Economic Diversity and Student Outcomes at University of Pennsylvania. The Upshot. The New York TImes. Accessed September 2024.
7. College Scorecard. U.S. Department of Education. Accessed September 2024.
8. Chetty, R., Friedman, J., Saez, E., Turner, N., and Yagan, D. Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility. The Equality of Opportunity Project. July 2017.
9. Bhatia, A., Miller, C. C., and Katz, J. Study of Elite College Admissions Data Suggests Being Very Rich Is Its Own Qualification. The Upshot. The New York Times. July 2023.