The 809 American colleges that participated in a 2017 survey reported an average return of 12.2 percent (net of fees) for the fiscal year, compared with a –1.9 percent return reported by 805 colleges for the 2016 fiscal year. Seven private nonprofit institutions had endowments of $10 billion or more at the end of the 2017 fiscal year, as did three public institutions or systems.
Private nonprofit institutions
| 1. | Harvard U. | $36,021,516,000 | 4.3% |
| 2. | Yale U. | $27,176,100,000 | 7.0% |
| 3. | Stanford U. | $24,784,943,000 | 10.7% |
| 4. | Princeton U. | $23,812,241,000 | 7.5% |
| 5. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $14,967,983,000 | 11.4% |
| 6. | U. of Pennsylvania | $12,213,202,000 | 14.0% |
| 7. | Northwestern U. | $10,436,692,000 | 8.2% |
| 8. | Columbia U. | $9,996,596,000 | 10.6% |
| 9. | U. of Notre Dame | $9,352,376,000 | 11.7% |
| 10. | Duke U. | $7,911,175,000 | 15.7% |
| 11. | Washington U. in St. Louis | $7,860,774,000 | 11.4% |
| 12. | U. of Chicago | $7,523,720,000 | 7.5% |
| 13. | Emory U. | $6,905,465,000 | 7.9% |
| 14. | Cornell U. | $6,757,750,000 | 13.2% |
| 15. | Rice U. | $5,814,444,000 | 9.2% |
| 16. | U. of Southern California | $5,128,459,000 | 11.3% |
| 17. | Dartmouth College | $4,956,494,000 | 10.8% |
| 18. | Vanderbilt U. | $4,136,465,000 | 9.0% |
| 19. | New York U. | $3,991,638,000 | 14.5% |
| 20. | Johns Hopkins U. | $3,844,918,000 | 13.7% |
| 21. | Brown U. | $3,245,531,000 | 9.5% |
| 22. | California Institute of Technology | $2,606,505,000 | 17.5% |
| 23. | Williams College | $2,508,773,000 | 11.2% |
| 24. | U. of Richmond | $2,373,506,000 | 8.4% |
| 25. | Boston College | $2,317,300,000 | 12.3% |
| 26. | Amherst College | $2,248,141,000 | 10.6% |
| 27. | Pomona College | $2,167,019,000 | 9.2% |
| 28. | Carnegie Mellon U. | $2,154,098,000 | 26.1% |
| 29. | U. of Rochester | $2,121,390,000 | 10.1% |
| 30. | Rockefeller U. | $2,049,344,000 | 8.6% |
| 31. | Boston U. | $1,957,021,000 | 18.3% |
| 32. | Swarthmore College | $1,955,532,000 | 11.9% |
| 33. | Wellesley College | $1,930,752,000 | 9.6% |
| 34. | Grinnell College | $1,871,046,000 | 13.5% |
| 35. | Case Western Reserve U. | $1,798,790,000 | 8.2% |
| 36. | Smith College | $1,767,466,000 | 8.6% |
| 37. | Tufts U. | $1,738,706,000 | 11.2% |
| 38. | George Washington U. | $1,729,147,000 | 10.1% |
| 39. | Georgetown U. | $1,661,745,000 | 12.0% |
| 40. | Washington and Lee U. | $1,547,135,000 | 5.1% |
| 41. | Texas Christian U. | $1,520,622,000 | 0.4% |
| 42. | Southern Methodist U. | $1,514,607,000 | 9.4% |
| 43. | Bowdoin College | $1,455,909,000 | 8.7% |
| 44. | Liberty U. | $1,290,703,000 | 19.2% |
| 45. | Tulane U. | $1,288,374,000 | 12.0% |
| 46. | Lehigh U. | $1,278,120,000 | 9.9% |
| 47. | Syracuse U. | $1,258,728,000 | 8.8% |
| 48. | Baylor U. | $1,230,958,000 | 7.6% |
| 49. | Wake Forest U. | $1,205,323,000 | 5.6% |
| 50. | Trinity U. | $1,194,250,000 | 10.1% |
•••
Public institutions
| 1. | U. of Texas system | $26,535,095,000 | 9.6% |
| 2. | Texas A&M U. system and foundations | $11,556,260,000 | 9.6% |
| 3. | U. of Michigan (all campuses) | $10,936,014,000 | 12.2% |
| 4. | U. of California system office | $9,787,627,000 | 17.3% |
| 5. | U. of Virginia | $6,393,561,000 | 9.2% |
| 6. | Ohio State U. | $4,253,459,000 | 18.9% |
| 7. | Pennsylvania State U. (all campuses) | $3,990,781,000 | 10.8% |
| 8. | U. of Pittsburgh (all campuses) | $3,945,687,000 | 11.9% |
| 9. | U. of Minnesota and foundations | $3,493,641,000 | 6.5% |
| 10. | U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and foundations | $3,027,227,000 | 4.8% |
| 11. | U. of Wisconsin Foundation | $2,746,470,000 | 13.5% |
| 12. | Michigan State U. | $2,682,869,000 | n/a |
| 13. | U. of Illinois and Foundation | $2,556,723,000 | 12.7% |
| 14. | U. of Washington | $2,529,250,000 | 13.0% |
| 15. | Purdue U. (all campuses) | $2,424,872,000 | 7.6% |
| 16. | Indiana U. and Foundation (all campuses) | $2,229,361,000 | 12.2% |
| 17. | U. of California at Los Angeles Foundation | $2,062,573,000 | 14.4% |
| 18. | Georgia Institute of Technology and related foundations | $1,985,802,000 | 7.7% |
| 19. | Virginia Commonwealth U. | $1,843,001,000 | 18.2% |
| 20. | U. of California Berkeley Foundation | $1,794,602,000 | 13.2% |
| 21. | U. of Oklahoma (all campuses) | $1,646,184,000 | 8.3% |
| 22. | U. of Nebraska system | $1,616,900,000 | 5.1% |
| 23. | Kansas University Endowment Association | $1,612,337,000 | 9.3% |
| 24. | U. of Florida Foundation | $1,612,003,000 | 10.3% |
| 25. | U. of Missouri system | $1,603,230,000 | 9.8% |
| 26. | U. of Iowa and Foundation | $1,387,001,000 | 10.1% |
| 27. | U. of Delaware | $1,364,057,000 | 8.1% |
| 28. | U. of Alabama system | $1,351,160,000 | 10.7% |
| 29. | U. of California San Francisco Foundation | $1,306,564,000 | 14.7% |
| 30. | U. of Kentucky | $1,285,114,000 | 15.0% |
| 31. | U. of Cincinnati | $1,282,743,000 | 10.1% |
| 32. | Texas Tech U. system | $1,261,576,000 | 12.0% |
| 33. | Rutgers, the State U. of New Jersey
| $1,220,265,000 | 12.6% |
| 34. | U. of Colorado Foundation | $1,220,204,000 | 14.8% |
| 35. | U. of Tennessee | $1,214,619,000 | 10.5% |
| 36. | U. of Georgia and related foundations | $1,151,904,000 | 13.3% |
| 37. | U. of Utah | $1,127,686,000 | 5.2% |
| 38. | North Carolina State U. and related foundations | $1,122,899,000 | 12.4% |
| 39. | U. System of Maryland and Foundation | $1,099,864,000 | 13.5% |
| 40. | U. of Arkansas at Fayetteville | $996,019,000 | 10.8% |
| 41. | Virginia Tech Foundation | $995,807,000 | 18.1% |
| 42. | Washington State U. | $974,029,000 | 7.3% |
| 43. | U. of Houston system | $962,297,000 | 29.7% |
| 44. | Oklahoma State U. Foundation | $903,415,000 | 6.7% |
| 45. | College of William & Mary and foundations | $874,081,000 | 8.8% |
| 46. | U. of California Irvine Foundation | $869,491,000 | 74.5% |
| 47. | U. of Arizona and Foundation | $843,529,000 | 11.8% |
| 48. | Iowa State U. and Foundation | $838,871,000 | 10.3% |
| 49. | Louisiana State U. system (all campuses) | $835,176,000 | 6.8% |
| 50. | U. of Oregon Foundation | $828,459,000 | 9.2% |
Note: Data represent changes in endowments’ market value from the end of the 2016 fiscal year, which for most colleges closed on June 30, 2016, to the end of the 2017 fiscal year, which for most colleges closed on June 30, 2017. Percentage change does not represent the rate of return on the institution’s investments but rather the net effect of withdrawals, payment of fees, contributions of donors, and investment gains or losses. Large percentage changes should be interpreted cautiously because they can result from fluctuations in the estimated valuations of real estate and other “illiquid” assets, or transfers from other institutional budget accounts. The University of Pittsburgh is included among public institutions though it is only state-related but is not state-owned. Canadian institutions are excluded. An interactive tool with endowment data from 2007 to 2017 is at www.chronicle.com/interactives/endowments. More data are at www.nacubo.org/Research/NACUBO-Commonfund_Study_of_Endowments.html. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to the list’s editor.
Source: National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute
Correction (2/27/2018, 1:23 p.m.): The original table should have listed No. 33 among public institutions as Rutgers, the State U. of New Jersey, not Rutgers U. at New Brunswick. The identification has been corrected.