A new list of the best colleges in the country has been released, and some big-name Texas universities have made an appearance.
US News & World Report released its rankings of the Best Colleges for 2025, evaluating nearly 1,500 universities on 17 factors that emphasize social mobility and post-graduation success. With this in mind, most of these factors are linked to a range of outcome indicators.
“Now in its 40th year, our Best Colleges rankings remain a trusted source of information for students and their families,” said Dr. Lamont Jones, U.S. News education editor in chief. “By considering factors like social mobility and post-graduation success, we aim to help students choose schools that will not only provide them with a quality education, but also prepare them for a successful and fulfilling future.”
How do Texas higher education institutions rank compared to their U.S. counterparts? Here’s how the data breaks down:
Read also: Study finds this Texas city to be one of the most affordable places to retire in America. See the full list
List: Top 10 National Universities
It may not be surprising to you that the top five universities in the United States include three Ivy League schools. The Ivy League is a group of eight private research universities in the Northeast known for their academic excellence. The top 10 schools on the list are:
1. Princeton University in New Jersey (Ivy League) 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3. Harvard University in Massachusetts (Ivy League) 4. Stanford University in California 5. Yale University in Connecticut (Ivy League) 6. California Institute of Technology (tie) 6. Duke University (tie) 6. Johns Hopkins University (tie) 6. Northwestern University (tie) 10. University of Pennsylvania (Ivy League)
Rice University ranked 6th among ‘best value’ schools
The top five “best value” higher education institutions were the same as the top five overall, but a Texas school ranked sixth.
U.S. News & World Report determined the “best value” by rating each school’s academic quality against the net cost of attendance for out-of-state students receiving average levels of financial aid.
Rice University in Houston is ranked sixth among the best value schools, ranking higher than Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, Brown University and others.
Rice also tied for seventh among universities nationwide for its commitment to undergraduate education.
Also read: This Texas city ranks among the top 50 best places to live, according to analysis. See the full list
UTSA made the second-biggest jump in the rankings.
Four of the 18 schools with the biggest ranking gains this year were in Texas, with the University of Texas at San Antonio posting the second-largest jump in the rankings, behind only the University of Dublin in New York.
The schools with the biggest jumps on the 2025 list are:
List: Best Colleges in Texas
Most of Texas’ universities are located in the state’s seven largest cities. The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University in College Station are both public universities and among the largest in the country.
Here is Texas’ ranking among the 26 national universities:
18: Rice University (Houston) (tie)30: University of Texas at Austin (tie)51: Texas A&M University, College Station (tie)91: Baylor University (Waco) (tie)91: Southern Methodist University (Dallas) (tie)105: Texas Christian University (Fort Worth) (tie)109: University of Texas at Dallas (tie)144: University of Houston (tie)209: University of St. Thomas (Houston) (tie)214: Texas Tech University (Lubbock) (tie)220: University of North Texas (Denton) (tie)220: University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley (tie)231: Sam Houston State University (Huntsville) (tie)231: University of Texas at Arlington (tie)231: University of Texas at San Antonio (tie)266: University of Texas at El Paso (tie)273: Texas State University, San Marcos (tie)288: University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio (tie)296: Abilene Christian University (tie)315: University of Houston, Clear Lake (tie)329: Texas Woman’s University, Denton (tie)359: Prairie View A&M University (tie)359: Texas A&M University, Kingsville (tie)359: University of Texas, Tyler (tie)371: Tarleton State University, Stephenville (tie)377: Texas A&M University, Commerce (tie)
—This story has been updated to fix a typo.
