Lafayette College beat Lehigh University out in a new national ranking of America's top college and universities, based on return on investment.

Lafayette landed at number 55 on Forbes magazine's America's Top Colleges 2016, ahead of Lehigh's ranking at 76.

Forbes' annual list looks at the 660 best U.S. colleges and universities. It is designed to give prospective college students a snapshot of the best schools to enroll at if they want to: graduate on time without major loan debt and get a good job. See the entire list here.

It's a big deal for two Lehigh Valley schools to rank in the top 100 nationally. Over in New Jersey, only Princeton University nabbed a top 100 spot.

With four years of college easily costing six figures these days, Forbes's list asks if the schools are worth your money. It considers whether current students are satisfied and if graduates of the school get good jobs and become leaders.

The list relies on data from the U.S. Department of Education, Payscale and the America's Leaders List, Forbes' "curated tally of alumni success."

While Lafayette's $63,680 annual tuition might cause some sticker shock, the average grant aid clocks in at $31,653. Forbes says the small school has an "outsize reputation in the liberal arts and engineering."

Attending Lehigh for a year costs $60,575 while the average grant aid received is $27,608. Three-quarters of Lehigh students graduate in four years and 96 percent of 2015 graduates are employed or attending graduate school.

Allentown's Muhlenberg College landed at spot 128, Penn State University ranks at 164 while Bethlehem's Moravian College is at 466.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and on Facebook.. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.