2026 college rankings: Where do the top schools stand?

By
Published  September 23, 2025 6:26pm EDT
FOX Local

Pedestrians walk through arches of the East Pyne building on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S., on Monday, June 21, 2010.  Photographer: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Brief

    • U.S. News released the 2026 Best Colleges rankings, evaluating 1,700 schools.
    • Eight schools kept their No. 1 spots, while two finished second.
    • The list also features best value, innovation, social mobility, and HBCUs.

WASHINGTON - U.S. News & World Report announced Tuesday the 2026 Best Colleges rankings.

Nearly 1,700 colleges and universities have been evaluated in the latest national and regional rankings, which measure academic quality across 17 key indicators. The results highlight consistent performance at the top: eight schools maintained their No. 1 positions across ten ranking categories, while the remaining two secured strong second-place finishes.

What they're saying:

"For over four decades, Best Colleges has served as a trusted and data-backed resource for students and families navigating the complex college search process," LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for Education at U.S. News, said in a news release. "Over the years, Best Colleges has evolved into a comprehensive tool that reflects the changing landscape of higher education, providing prospective students with a crucial starting point to identify schools that align with their academic and personal goals."

Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

Student loan delinquency rate spikes post pandemic

Nearly one in three student loan borrowers are at risk of defaulting on payments as early as July. This comes as delinquency and default rates soar in the wake of pandemic-era repayment relief ending. This accounts for about 5.8 million federal student loan borrowers, who were 90 days or more past due on their payments as of April 2025. This new information comes from analysis from TransUnion. LiveNOW’s Andrew Craft is getting the latest from Fox News multimedia reporter, Caroline Elliott.

"While the general scoring weights and factors remained consistent, the 2026 rankings made a few small adjustments to ensure the results accurately reflect the evolving landscape of higher education," he added. "By considering students' credit hours and increasing the minimum number of students for a cohort, the rankings deliver a view of institutional investment in students, and graduation and retention rates." 

RELATED: School superintendent defends teachers criticized for assigning book with profanity to students

Dig deeper:

This edition of the rankings also includes specialized rankings, including best value schools, most innovative colleges, top performers on social mobility and historically Black colleges and universities, as well as universities with the greatest commitment to undergraduate teaching.

Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

Colleges grapple with balancing free speech, safety

A professor was fired from Texas A&M University this week after a viral video showed a back and forth with a student over whether she should be teaching that there are more than two genders. Higher Ed Dive editor Laura Spitalniak joins LiveNOW to discuss her reporting on the controversy surrounding this incident, and how universities are more broadly attempting to balance free speech and campus security as political violence continues to rise.

2026 college rankings

Why you should care:

2026 Best National Universities – Top 3

  1. Princeton University
  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  3. Harvard University

2026  Best National Liberal Arts Colleges – Top 3

  1. Williams College
  2. Amherst College
  3. United States Naval Academy

2026 Top Public Schools: National Universities – Top 3

  1. University of California, Berkeley
  2. University of California – Los Angeles
  3. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

2026 Top Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Top 3

  1. Spelman College
  2. Howard University
  3. Morehouse College

2026 Top Performers on Social Mobility: National Universities – Top 3

  1. Florida International University
  2. University of California, Riverside
  3. California State University, Long Beach

2026 Top Schools for Veterans: National Universities – Top 3

  1. University of Chicago
  2. Cornell University
  3. Brown University

2026 Best Regional Universities: North – Top 3

  1. Bentley University
  2. Providence College
  3. Rhode Island School of Design

2026 Best Regional Universities: South – Top 3

  1. Citadel Military College of South Carolina
  2. Rollins College
  3. Appalachian State University

2026 Best Regional Universities: Midwest – Top 3

  1. Butler University
  2. John Carroll University
  3. Milwaukee School of Engineering

2026 Best Regional Universities: West – Top 3

  1. California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo
  2. University of Portland
  3. California State Polytechnic University – Pomona

The Source: The information in this story comes from U.S. News & World Report’s official announcement of its 2026 Best Colleges rankings. This story was reported from Los Angeles. 

Education