Ranking: The Forbes 2025–2026 Top Colleges In America

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Princeton University was ranked the No. 3 in Forbes’ latest list of the Top Colleges.

FORBES’ TOP 100

The top 100 colleges and universities in Forbes’ 2025-2026 ranking of the 500 best universities and colleges in America are listed below.

Forbes’ 2025-2026 Top 100 Colleges in America
2025 Rank
Name
State
Type
Av. Grant Aid
Av. Debt
Median 20-year Salary
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Private $58,331 $12,071 $196,900
2 Columbia University NY Private $65,173 $14,737 $159,700
3 Princeton University NJ Private $60,629 $7,667 $194,100
4 Stanford University CA Private $64,164 $14,075 $181,200
5 University of California, Berkeley CA Public $25,951 $6,529 $170,100
6 Harvard University MA Private $64,942 $8,729 $177,400
7 Williams College MA Private $64,176 $8,171 $173,900
8 Johns Hopkins University MD Private $58,456 $10,600 $146,200
9 Yale University CT Private $59,076 $5,256 $171,900
10 University of Pennsylvania PA Private $59,721 $13,512 $178,300
11 Vanderbilt University TN Private $57,723 $11,345 $151,500
12 Rice University TX Private $53,526 $10,083 $150,600
13 University of Chicago IL Private $58,877 $13,890 $151,000
14 Cornell University NY Private $56,741 $8,574 $158,600
15 University of California, Los Angeles CA Public $22,441 $6,406 $149,200
16 Northwestern University IL Private $64,463 $7,403 $144,700
17 Dartmouth College NH Private $66,480 $6,152 $178,700
18 Brown University RI Private $58,378 $11,780 $160,300
19 Amherst College MA Private $65,623 $9,823 $143,900
20 University of California, San Diego CA Public $24,176 $5,294 $156,000
21 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI Public $22,005 $9,814 $142,100
22 Duke University NC Private $59,327 $11,551 $164,000
23 Swarthmore College PA Private $62,084 $5,970 $162,500
24 California Institute of Technology CA Private $60,201 $10,614 $175,400
25 Washington University in St. Louis MO Private $61,036 $7,789 $146,800
26 Claremont McKenna College CA Private $52,149 $7,431 $175,000
27 Emory University GA Private $50,828 $10,420 $143,300
28 University of Southern California CA Private $43,208 $9,085 $154,800
29 Wellesley College MA Private $61,549 $8,059 $138,800
30 University of Florida FL Public $10,724 $6,562 $127,500
31 University of California, Irvine CA Public $21,533 $6,223 $152,200
32 Georgia Institute of Technology GA Public $13,423 $7,726 $168,000
33 University of Notre Dame IN Private $51,128 $9,073 $165,500
34 University of Virginia VA Public $29,675 $10,002 $153,900
35 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC Public $15,365 $8,243 $121,900
36 Pomona College CA Private $63,773 $12,046 $143,800
37 University of Maryland, College Park MD Public $12,142 $9,453 $139,700
38 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign IL Public $17,524 $7,193 $144,200
39 Bowdoin College ME Private $57,280 $14,218 $155,100
40 Brigham Young University UT Private $6,284 $5,745 $137,800
41 Georgetown University DC Private $46,729 $10,480 $168,600
42 University of California, Santa Barbara CA Public $21,732 $7,480 $152,300
43 Carnegie Mellon University PA Private $47,550 $6,883 $167,400
44 University of California, Davis CA Public $21,258 $6,182 $147,900
45 Boston University MA Private $55,080 $11,732 $150,100
46 University of Texas, Austin TX Public $12,060 $6,066 $141,100
47 Washington and Lee University VA Private $58,323 $10,360 $164,400
48 Colgate University NY Private $56,696 $9,807 $176,100
49 New York University NY Private $48,269 $9,849 $151,100
50 University of Washington, Seattle WA Public $14,390 $6,813 $139,900
51 Wesleyan University CT Private $64,709 $9,803 $153,800
52 Middlebury College VT Private $59,348 $8,743 $145,400
53 University of Wisconsin, Madison WI Public $11,350 $9,061 $129,700
54 Boston College MA Private $51,099 $3,580 $147,000
55 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo CA Public $12,707 $6,008 $153,100
56 Haverford College PA Private $61,802 $9,559 $146,400
57 University of Georgia GA Public $11,657 $7,031 $128,300
58 Tufts University MA Private $51,267 $8,657 $147,200
59 Davidson College NC Private $49,355 $8,446 $147,800
60 William & Mary VA Public $20,908 $9,746 $136,300
61 Texas A&M University, College Station TX Public $11,607 $8,772 $143,500
62 Purdue University IN Public $11,126 $9,001 $129,800
63 University of California, Santa Cruz CA Public $21,564 $6,799 $134,900
64 Lehigh University PA Private $43,644 $9,786 $175,600
65 Santa Clara University CA Private $28,375 $8,095 $179,500
66 North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC Public $11,811 $7,609 $132,600
67 George Washington University DC Private $35,367 $10,130 $153,400
68 Binghamton University, SUNY NY Public $10,832 $7,637 $141,200
69 University of Rochester NY Private $41,700 $7,496 $145,600
70 Rutgers University NJ Public $16,249 $11,606 $141,200
71 Colby College ME Private $66,387 $14,111 $129,900
72 Florida State University FL Public $8,731 $6,850 $115,200
73 Hamilton College NY Private $54,359 $5,781 $128,300
74 College of the Holy Cross MA Private $41,140 $5,241 $143,900
75 Villanova University PA Private $42,948 $11,971 $144,600
76 University of Miami (FL) FL Private $36,720 $10,563 $124,100
77 University of California, Riverside CA Public $21,566 $5,468 $132,200
78 University of Minnesota, Twin Cities MN Public $11,807 $10,378 $129,400
79 Michigan State University MI Public $8,147 $9,086 $122,500
80 Stony Brook University, SUNY NY Public $10,266 $6,839 $133,700
81 Virginia Tech VA Public $8,542 $10,390 $139,600
82 Trinity University (TX) TX Private $33,524 $8,079 $132,000
83 Ohio State University OH Public $11,791 $8,718 $120,600
84 Harvey Mudd College CA Private $42,070 $6,112 $185,900
85 Bucknell University PA Private $41,211 $12,134 $159,100
86 Clemson University SC Public $10,599 $12,069 $128,900
87 San Diego State University CA Public $5,459 $7,137 $127,700
88 Trinity College (CT) CT Private $51,240 $9,530 $146,900
89 Smith College MA Private $54,311 $11,483 $123,000
90 CUNY, Baruch College NY Public $9,867 $5,399 $136,700
91 Lafayette College PA Private $44,126 $11,146 $162,000
92 University of Richmond VA Private $42,050 $9,640 $133,400
93 University of Colorado, Boulder CO Public $10,838 $10,773 $140,700
94 Indiana University, Bloomington IN Public $9,857 $9,445 $120,500
95 Babson College MA Private $47,028 $10,824 $181,400
96 University of Oklahoma, Norman OK Public $10,830 $9,556 $120,300
97 California State University, Long Beach CA Public $10,512 $5,464 $125,000
98 Wake Forest University NC Private $55,090 $9,868 $149,600
99 University of Utah UT Public $12,148 $7,903 $129,400
100 Bates College ME Private $53,782 $10,278 $152,300

See Forbes‘ full list here. 

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