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Best Public Universities

US News 2026 top public universities. The 2024-2026 methodology updates significantly boosted public flagships in the overall ranking too.

Top entries are curated; the rest are auto-extended by selectivity.

#SchoolLocation Accept SAT mid-50% ACT mid-50% Undergrads Avg Class Size Type
#1 UCLA Los Angeles, California 8.6% — — 33,000 ~40 est. public View
#2 UC Berkeley Berkeley, California 11.5% — — 33,000 ~40 est. public View
#3 University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 17.7% 1370-1530 31-34 33,000 ~24 est. public View
#4 UVA Charlottesville, Virginia 16.6% 1410-1520 32-35 17,500 ~33 est. public View
#5 UNC Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 16.7% 1370-1500 30-33 19,000 ~31 est. public View
#6 Georgia Tech Atlanta, Georgia 16.0% 1430-1530 32-35 18,000 ~40 est. public View
#7 University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 29.0% 1240-1460 27-33 40,000 ~40 est. public View
#8 University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 49.0% 1310-1450 27-32 35,000 ~37 est. public View
#9 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida 23.0% 1340-1460 30-33 35,000 ~35 est. public View
#10 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 43.0% 1290-1470 27-33 35,000 ~44 est. public View
#11 University of Maryland College Park, Maryland 45.0% 1290-1470 29-33 30,000 ~37 est. public View
#12 William & Mary Williamsburg, Virginia 32.0% 1370-1500 30-33 6,700 ~24 est. public View
#13 University of Washington Seattle, Washington 43.0% 1240-1430 27-33 36,000 ~44 est. public View
#14 Ohio State Columbus, Ohio 53.0% 1280-1450 27-32 47,000 ~40 est. public View
#15 Penn State University Park, Pennsylvania 54.0% 1240-1410 27-32 40,000 ~37 est. public View
#16 University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 43.0% 1240-1420 28-32 31,000 ~37 est. public View
#17 Texas A&M College Station, Texas 64.0% 1180-1390 25-31 58,000 ~42 est. public View
#18 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 56.0% 1240-1430 27-32 30,000 ~31 est. public View
#19 University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 49.0% 1240-1420 27-32 20,000 ~31 est. public View
#20 Michigan State East Lansing, Michigan 83.0% 1110-1310 23-29 39,000 ~37 est. public View
#21 Rutgers New Brunswick, New Jersey 65.0% 1210-1440 26-32 36,000 ~29 est. public View
#22 University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota 70.0% 1280-1450 26-32 36,000 ~37 est. public View
#23 Clemson Clemson, South Carolina 43.0% 1240-1410 27-32 21,000 ~33 est. public View
#24 Binghamton University Binghamton, New York 40.0% 1310-1450 29-32 14,000 ~40 est. public View
#25 Stony Brook Stony Brook, New York 48.0% 1240-1430 27-32 18,000 ~37 est. public View
#26 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, California 30.0% 1280-1450 27-32 22,000 ~40 est. public View
#27 San Diego State San Diego, California 38.0% 1140-1320 23-29 31,000 ~53 est. public View
#28 Auburn Auburn, Alabama 46.0% 1170-1340 25-31 24,000 ~40 est. public View
#29 University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut 54.0% 1230-1410 27-32 23,000 ~35 est. public View
#30 University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina 64.0% 1180-1360 25-31 27,000 ~37 est. public View
#31 University of Delaware Newark, Delaware 66.0% 1180-1370 26-31 19,000 ~33 est. public View
#32 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado 81.0% 1180-1370 25-31 31,000 ~40 est. public View
#34 Temple Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 80.0% 1170-1340 24-30 24,000 ~31 est. public View
#35 George Mason Fairfax, Virginia 89.0% 1130-1330 24-30 27,000 ~37 est. public View
#36 Cal State Long Beach Long Beach, California 42.0% 1090-1290 21-28 33,000 ~53 est. public View
#37 San Jose State San Jose, California 70.0% 1100-1330 21-29 29,000 ~53 est. public View
#38 University of Missouri Columbia, Missouri 81.0% 1130-1310 23-29 24,000 ~40 est. public View
#39 University of Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska 80.0% 1100-1310 22-29 21,000 ~33 est. public View
#40 Iowa State Ames, Iowa 88.0% 1100-1310 21-29 29,000 ~40 est. public View
#41 University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 87.0% 1130-1340 22-29 24,000 ~33 est. public View
#42 University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas 89.0% 1090-1310 22-29 20,000 ~37 est. public View
#43 University of New Hampshire Durham, New Hampshire 87.0% 1110-1300 24-29 12,000 ~40 est. public View
#44 University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont 64.0% 1230-1390 27-32 11,000 ~33 est. public View
#45 University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee 45.0% 1170-1370 25-32 31,000 ~40 est. public View
#46 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon 88.0% 1100-1300 22-28 18,000 ~37 est. public View
#47 University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama 80.0% 1090-1340 23-31 33,000 ~40 est. public View
#48 Florida State Tallahassee, Florida 37.0% 1230-1370 26-30 33,000 ~40 est. public View
#49 University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 86.0% 1110-1320 21-28 35,000 ~44 est. public View
#50 Arizona State Tempe, Arizona 88.0% 1130-1340 23-29 75,000 ~42 est. public View
#51 LSU Baton Rouge, Louisiana 77.0% 1080-1280 22-28 29,000 ~66 est. public View
#52 University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 87.0% 1100-1330 22-29 24,000 ~37 est. public View
#53 University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky 94.0% 1080-1290 22-29 22,000 ~40 est. public View
#54 University of Houston Houston, Texas 70.0% 1100-1290 21-27 37,000 ~46 est. public View
#55 University of Maine Orono, Maine 94.0% 1050-1240 21-27 9,000 ~33 est. public View
#56 University of Hawaii Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii 58.0% 1080-1280 22-27 13,000 ~29 est. public View
#57 United States Military Academy New York 12.5% 1210-1420 27-33 4,400 ~31 est. public View
#58 UC Irvine California 21.0% — — 31,000 ~40 est. public View
#59 UC Santa Barbara California 26.0% — — 23,000 ~37 est. public View
#60 UC San Diego California 28.6% — — 33,000 ~42 est. public View
#61 UC Davis California 37.0% — — 31,000 ~46 est. public View
#62 NC State North Carolina 40.0% 1290-1450 28-33 26,000 ~42 est. public View
#63 Purdue West Lafayette, Indiana 50.0% 1190-1430 25-33 37,000 ~29 est. public View
#64 UMass Amherst Massachusetts 58.0% 1280-1460 29-33 24,000 ~42 est. public View
#65 Florida A&M Tallahassee, Florida 35.0% 1010-1180 19-23 8,500 ~37 est. public View
#66 University of Central Florida Florida 41.0% 1230-1380 26-31 59,000 ~42 est. public View
#67 University of South Florida Florida 44.0% 1210-1370 25-30 38,000 ~42 est. public View
#68 Tennessee State Tennessee 46.0% 880-1060 16-20 7,000 ~31 est. public View
#69 UC Santa Cruz California 47.0% — — 18,000 ~37 est. public View
#70 CUNY Baruch College New York 50.0% 1280-1450 28-32 15,000 ~37 est. public View
#71 Colorado Mines Colorado 55.0% 1290-1450 28-33 5,500 ~31 est. public View
#72 Texas Southern Texas 55.0% 860-1030 15-19 7,000 ~31 est. public View
#73 University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 56.0% 0-0 0-0 11,000 ~33 est. public View
#74 Cal Poly Pomona California 62.0% 1100-1330 21-28 24,000 ~42 est. public View
#75 NC A&T North Carolina 62.0% 960-1140 17-22 13,000 ~37 est. public View
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