The 2024 Social Mobility Index measures how successful institutions are in elevating low-income students into the middle class by five years after graduation.

The University of New Orleans ranks in the top 10 percent of 4-year colleges and universities in the 2024 Social Mobility Index, which measures how successful institutions are in elevating low-income students into the middle class by five years after graduation. This is the 11th year the Social Mobility Index has been compiled by CollegeNET, a provider of web-based technologies for higher education.

Out of 1,205 U.S. institutions, the University of New Orleans ranked No. 102 in the nation, which is the second highest ranking of any Louisiana college or university and the highest of any Carnegie R2 research university in the state. The Social Mobility Index ranks schools according to how well they hold the line on tuition, enroll students from low-economic backgrounds, and graduate students into good paying jobs. It considers tuition, percentage of low-income students, average median early career salary, average debt, and percentage of freshman on federal Pell Grants, among other factors.  

According to CollegeNET, the Social Mobility Index measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically disadvantaged students—with family incomes below the national median—at lower tuition and graduates them into good paying jobs. For more information on the methodology and the 2024 Social Mobility Index, click here.