Ten senior colleges from the City University of New York (CUNY) have been recognized in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings for their achievements in social mobility and return on investment. The City College of New York was ranked No. 9 among national universities, while Baruch College and Hunter College tied for the top position among regional universities in the northern United States. In total, six CUNY senior colleges were included in the top 10 for regional universities.
Other CUNY institutions listed among the top 10 regional universities include John Jay College of Criminal Justice (tied at 3), Brooklyn College and Lehman College (tied at 6), and Queens College (8). The College of Staten Island was ranked No. 33. New York City College of Technology was placed at No. 16 among northern regional colleges.
“We have always been proud of our standout successes in providing our students and graduates with a rigorous education that will pay off for them, and this latest ranking validates that achievement,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is unmatched in social mobility, and this recognition is just yet another motivator for us to double down on this focus moving forward.”
U.S. News determines its rankings by grouping institutions based on the types of degrees they offer—bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs—and their geographic location within the United States. Factors such as graduation rates, retention rates, peer assessments, financial resources, and others are used to determine placement. Social mobility rankings specifically measure a school’s ability to graduate Pell Grant recipients.
In addition to these recognitions, U.S. News also placed City College at No. 68 among public national universities and identified seven CUNY colleges among the top public universities in the north region: Baruch (2), John Jay (tied at 5), Hunter (tied at 8), Lehman (tied at 13), Brooklyn College and Queens College (tied at 16). Medgar Evers College was named No. 15 among public national liberal arts colleges, while City Tech was ranked No. 13 among top public colleges in the north region.
These results follow recent acknowledgments from other organizations; Forbes’ “25 Colleges With the Highest Payoff” included eight CUNY senior colleges in its top ten list—ranking Brooklyn College first—and The Princeton Review featured four CUNY senior colleges in its “The Best 391 Colleges: 2026 Edition.”
CUNY’s two-year institutions also received high marks from WalletHub’s list of Best Community Colleges in New York State: Guttman Community College ranked first, followed by Queensborough Community College in second place; all seven CUNY community colleges were represented on WalletHub’s list.
CUNY is recognized as the largest urban public university system in the United States, serving nearly 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students across New York City’s five boroughs through seven community colleges, eleven senior colleges, and eight graduate or professional schools. The university awards approximately 50,000 degrees annually and is noted for advancing low-income students into higher income brackets more than Ivy League institutions combined. Over eighty percent of graduates remain in New York after completing their studies.
According to information provided by CUNY’s official website https://www.cuny.edu/, its mission continues to be providing accessible public education regardless of background or means.
“We have always been proud of our standout successes in providing our students and graduates with a rigorous education that will pay off for them, and this latest ranking validates that achievement,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is unmatched in social mobility, and this recognition is just yet another motivator for us to double down on this focus moving forward.”
