If you're looking for a Texas college or university where your education will come with an impressive paycheck, look no further than Houston's Rice University.

A new study from personal financial website SmartAsset shows the average starting salary for a newly minted Rice grad with a bachelor's degree stands at $72,400. No other college or university in Texas passes the $70,000 mark for starting salaries.

A report from PayScale.com indicates the $72,400 average salary for a Rice grad ranks 39th in the nation. Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, claims the No. 1 spot ($91,400).

The salary ranking is part of a broader SmartAsset study that examined five factors — scholarships and grants, tuition, student living costs, student retention rate, and starting salary — to determine the best-value colleges and universities in Texas. Rice also appears at No. 1 on that list.

"Rice is frequently rated as one of the nation's best values among private schools because its tuition tends to be lower than its peer research universities," the school noted in a March news release, "and its financial aid policies are regularly reviewed to keep its exceptional education affordable to students from a wide variety of cultural and economic backgrounds."

For the salary component of the study, the University of Houston ranks 10th in the state, at $57,500. Overall, it earns the No. 3 spot for best value in Texas.

Here's the list of the top 10 schools in Texas for starting salaries of new grads:

1. Rice University in Houston, $72,400
2. University of Texas at Austin, $62,100
3. Texas A&M University in College Station, $61,200
4. University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, $60,800
5. Southern Methodist University in Dallas, $60,600
6. LeTourneau University in Longview, $59,900
7. Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, $59,500
8. University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, $58,900
9. Texas Tech University in Lubbock, $57,600
10. University of Houston, $57,500

Here's the list of the top 10 schools in Texas designated as "best value":

1. Rice University in Houston
2. University of Texas at Austin
3. University of Houston
4. Texas A&M University in College Station
5. University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson
6. Texas Tech University in Lubbock
7. Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View
8. LeTourneau University in Longview
9. Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls
10. Texas State University in San Marcos