Best Schools for Liberal Arts & Humanities in 2026

830 schools ranked by TSW Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Liberal Arts & Humanities, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Liberal Arts & Humanities graduate earns $27,616/yr across 830 schools.

Programs Ranked
830
Avg Earnings
$27,616/yr
Avg TSW Score
45/100
AI-Proof Rating
AI-Proof
16% task exposure

All Liberal Arts & Humanities Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

# School TSW Score Earnings ROI
1 Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Liberal Arts & Humanities
68
69–68
$79,921/yr 79.0x
2 Henry Ford College
Dearborn, MI · Liberal Arts & Humanities
69
69–69
$51,663/yr 143.7x
3 Columbia Southern University
Orange Beach, AL · Liberal Arts & Humanities
61
61–61
$55,667/yr 56.0x
4 Mesa Community College
Mesa, AZ · Liberal Arts & Humanities
65
65–65
$46,084/yr 104.2x
5 Thomas Edison State University
Trenton, NJ · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
57–57
$50,524/yr 46.0x
6 Marion Technical College
Marion, OH · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
58–56
$51,927/yr 43.2x
7 Baltimore City Community College
Baltimore, MD · Liberal Arts & Humanities
60
59–60
$41,120/yr 78.7x
8 American Public University System
Charles Town, WV · Liberal Arts & Humanities
55
55–55
$52,108/yr 37.4x
9 Community College of Aurora
Aurora, CO · Liberal Arts & Humanities
56
55–55
$38,729/yr 58.7x
10 Bunker Hill Community College
Boston, MA · Liberal Arts & Humanities
58
59–58
$38,780/yr 76.4x
11 Randolph Community College
Asheboro, NC · Liberal Arts & Humanities
60
61–60
$40,145/yr 86.0x
12 Central Texas College
Killeen, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
60
58–60
$39,731/yr 82.5x
13 Arapahoe Community College
Littleton, CO · Liberal Arts & Humanities
54
54–54
$38,592/yr 51.7x
14 Oakland Community College
Auburn Hills, MI · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
57–56
$37,347/yr 69.4x
15 Inver Hills Community College
Inver Grove Heights, MN · Liberal Arts & Humanities
53
53–52
$41,906/yr 40.3x
16 Truckee Meadows Community College
Reno, NV · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
56–56
$37,415/yr 68.6x
17 Excelsior University
Albany, NY · Liberal Arts & Humanities
53
53–53
$50,464/yr
18 Beaufort County Community College
Washington, NC · Liberal Arts & Humanities
58
59–58
$38,009/yr 70.0x
19 Oklahoma Panhandle State University
Goodwell, OK · Liberal Arts & Humanities
56
58–56
$57,445/yr 26.0x
20 Austin Community College District
Austin, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
62
59–62
$38,436/yr 112.5x
21 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI · Liberal Arts & Humanities
53
54–53
$40,717/yr 44.3x
22 Northern Wyoming Community College District
Sheridan, WY · Liberal Arts & Humanities
56
52–56
$38,308/yr 58.0x
23 Santiago Canyon College
Orange, CA · Liberal Arts & Humanities
64
64–64
$37,149/yr 197.2x
24 Yavapai College
Prescott, AZ · Liberal Arts & Humanities
55
57–55
$36,742/yr 61.5x
25 Diablo Valley College
Pleasant Hill, CA · Liberal Arts & Humanities
62
62–61
$35,813/yr 135.5x
26 City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College
Chicago, IL · Liberal Arts & Humanities
59
60–58
$36,908/yr 83.3x
27 Kansas City Kansas Community College
Kansas City, KS · Liberal Arts & Humanities
55
55–55
$35,955/yr 65.9x
28 Bunker Hill Community College
Boston, MA · Liberal Arts & Humanities
52
51–52
$38,348/yr 44.4x
29 St Cloud Technical and Community College
Saint Cloud, MN · Liberal Arts & Humanities
53
52–52
$37,802/yr 47.6x
30 Fayetteville Technical Community College
Fayetteville, NC · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
57–57
$36,276/yr 75.9x
31 Edison State Community College
Piqua, OH · Liberal Arts & Humanities
59
59–59
$36,016/yr 91.5x
32 Alvin Community College
Alvin, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
59
60–59
$35,306/yr 95.3x
33 Howard College
Big Spring, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
57–57
$36,240/yr 74.4x
34 Salt Lake Community College
Salt Lake City, UT · Liberal Arts & Humanities
54
52–54
$35,804/yr 58.9x
35 Southwest College for the Deaf
Big Spring, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
57–57
$36,240/yr 74.4x
36 Mohave Community College
Kingman, AZ · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
58–57
$34,557/yr 80.7x
37 Los Medanos College
Pittsburg, CA · Liberal Arts & Humanities
63
62–63
$35,283/yr 192.5x
38 Lincoln Land Community College
Springfield, IL · Liberal Arts & Humanities
55
52–55
$34,164/yr 67.8x
39 Prairie State College
Chicago Heights, IL · Liberal Arts & Humanities
51
51–51
$34,909/yr 49.4x
40 Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, KY · Liberal Arts & Humanities
51
51–51
$36,623/yr 46.5x
41 University of Maryland Global Campus
Adelphi, MD · Liberal Arts & Humanities
52
49–51
$41,071/yr 36.3x
42 Grand Rapids Community College
Grand Rapids, MI · Liberal Arts & Humanities
51
50–50
$33,777/yr 50.0x
43 North Hennepin Community College
Brooklyn Park, MN · Liberal Arts & Humanities
51
51–51
$37,317/yr 42.9x
44 Maria College of Albany
Albany, NY · Liberal Arts & Humanities
51
52–51
$60,857/yr 16.2x
45 Vance-Granville Community College
Henderson, NC · Liberal Arts & Humanities
57
58–57
$34,109/yr 83.9x
46 Oklahoma City Community College
Oklahoma City, OK · Liberal Arts & Humanities
53
51–53
$34,626/yr 56.1x
47 North Central Texas College
Gainesville, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
59
56–58
$34,615/yr 94.7x
48 Grayson College
Denison, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
56
54–56
$34,262/yr 77.4x
49 Northeast Texas Community College
Mount Pleasant, TX · Liberal Arts & Humanities
55
54–55
$33,903/yr 73.7x
50 Spokane Community College
Spokane, WA · Liberal Arts & Humanities
52
51–52
$34,583/yr 54.3x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (projected earnings vs. program tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Liberal Arts & Humanities?
Based on our TradeSchoolOutlook Score, Purdue University-Main Campus ranks #1 for Liberal Arts & Humanities with a score of 68/100 and graduate earnings of $79,921/yr.
How much do Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates earn?
Across 830 schools, Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates earn an average of $27,616/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $79,921/yr.
Is Liberal Arts & Humanities an AI-proof career?
Liberal Arts & Humanities has an average AI task exposure of 16%, rated "AI-Proof". This is a highly AI-proof trade — hands-on work that AI cannot automate.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.