California Schools Rank High in 2025 Best Colleges Study

Stanford University ranked fourth in the top rankings of U.S. universities this year.

A view of Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus in Stanford, Calif., on March 28, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Universities in California took several spots in this year’s rankings of top U.S. colleges published on June 16 by U.S. News & World Report.

The schools were ranked on 17 factors to measure their academic performance and other criteria, such as graduation rates and their global and regional reputations, according to the report.

The outlet listed the top 100 schools in several separate categories, including national universities, national liberal arts colleges, regional universities, and regional colleges.

The 11th annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of 2,250 top institutions revealed a handful of California schools were among the best national universities in the country this year.

Stanford University is ranked the top California school, coming in fourth place among national universities. The cost to attend the university located near San Francisco is about $66,000 a year.

In sixth place is the California Institute of Technology, located in Pasadena. Students there also pay about $66,000 a year in tuition.

The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), with an average $14,200-per-year in-state tuition, tied with Dartmouth College to place 15th, followed by the University of California at Berkeley, which placed 17th. The Berkeley campus costs about $17,000 per year for in-state students.

For those wondering about UCLA’s crosstown rival, the University of Southern California (USC), the private school placed 27th this year. Tuition there is about $72,000 per year.

The University of California at San Diego, with an in-state tuition of nearly $17,000 a year, placed 29th.

The top school in this year’s ranking of national universities is Princeton University in New Jersey. The school has about 5,700 undergraduate students and costs about $62,400 per year to attend.

Placing second was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is home to about 4,600 undergraduates and costs students about $62,400 a year.

Harvard University, also in Cambridge, placed third this year. Its 7,110 undergraduate students pay about $62,000 a year to attend.

A student walks toward Royce Hall on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on March 11, 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Among liberal arts colleges, Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, came in first, followed by Amherst College, also in Massachusetts. In third place was Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, and the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, took fourth.

In Claremont, California, Pomona College ranked fifth nationally among liberal arts colleges. Claremont McKenna College ranked eighth, and Harvey Mudd College ranked 12th.

Students can use the rankings to help them decide where to apply, but should also consider other factors, according to the report.

“The rankings assess academic research and reputation, but personal considerations—including location, campus culture, strength of particular programs, and cost—are also very important considerations,” the report stated.

The indicators used in this year’s rankings included global research reputation, regional research reputation, publications, books, conferences, normalized citation impact, total citations, and international collaboration.