by our College Data Analytics Team
[Agriculture](/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/general-agriculture/agriculture/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong agriculture education at a price that pays off.
College Factual analyzed 4 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value agriculture schools.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the agriculture degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in agriculture, no school beat Cornell University this year. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell University is a very large private not-for-profit university. In-state tuition and fees average $69,314. Students borrow a median of $15,599 to complete the agriculture program here. Agriculture graduates of Cornell University earn a median of $53,465 early in their careers. Set against $15,599 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 9%.
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.