Forbes has released new data regarding the financial health of more than 900 private colleges with enrollment of more than 500 students. The 2026 College Financial Grades report includes several historically Black colleges and universities, which display varying ranges of fiscal stability.
According to the Forbes list, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, are the most financially healthy HBCUs in the country, each receiving a B+ grade.
Notably absent from the Forbes list is Spelman College in Atlanta, the nation’s highest-ranked private HBCU academically. Spelman has an endowment of $567 million.
Tuskegee University, Virginia University of Lynchburg, and Howard University all received B grades, while Claflin University, Miles College, and Hampton University all received B- grades.
There are 13 private HBCUs on the Forbes list that received a grade in the C range: Xavier University of Louisiana, Voorhees College, Tougaloo College, Johnson C. Smith University, and Clark Atlanta University received C+ grades; Bethune-Cookman University, Talladega College, and Lane College received C grades; and Dillard University, Livingstone College, Huston-Tillotson University, Benedict College, and Shaw University received C- grades.
At the lowest level, another 13 private HBCUs received a grade of D for their overall fiscal stability: Paul Quinn College, Jarvis Christian University, Morris College, Wilberforce University, Edward Waters University, Oakwood University, Stillman College, Saint Augustine’s University, Florida Memorial University, Allen University, Philander Smith University, Virginia Union University, and Wiley University.
