These Are The Best Colleges And Universities In CA: Ranking

CALIFORNIA — A number of higher-education institutions in California were named among the 2025 top colleges and universities in the country, according to a new report by WalletHub.

California Institute of Technology in Pasadena ranked as the best university in California and the seventh-best university in the country, according to the study. Harvey Mudd College in Claremont ranked as the best college in the state and the fifth-best college in the U.S.

Researchers at the personal finance website compared more than 800 post-secondary institutions in the U.S. based on 30 key measures grouped into seven categories, including cost and financing, student selectivity, and career outcomes. The data set ranged from student-faculty ratios to graduation rates to salaries after graduation.

These are the top 10 colleges and universities in California, according to the rankings:

1. California Institute of Technology
2. Stanford University
3. Claremont McKenna College
4. University of California, Los Angeles
5. Harvey Mudd College
6. Pomona College
7. University of California, San Diego
8. University of California, Berkeley
9. University of California, Irvine
10. University of Southern California

Here's a closer look at how the top three schools in the Golden State scored:

California Institute of Technology

• Total Score: 77.18
• Student Selectivity Rank: 1st
• Cost and Financing Rank: 789th
• Faculty Resources Rank: 3rd
• Campus Safety Rank: 719th
• Campus Experience Rank: 38th
• Education Outcomes Rank: 27th
• Career Outcomes Rank: 1st

Stanford University

• Total Score: 75.25
• Student Selectivity Rank: 6th
• Cost and Financing Rank: 791st
• Faculty Resources Rank: 39th
• Campus Safety Rank: 341st
• Campus Experience Rank: 16th
• Education Outcomes Rank: 42nd
• Career Outcomes Rank: 41st

Claremont McKenna College

• Total Score: 74.1
• Student Selectivity Rank: 39th
• Cost and Financing Rank: 767th
• Faculty Resources Rank: 20th
• Campus Safety Rank: 744th
• Campus Experience Rank: 14th
• Education Outcomes Rank: 20th
• Career Outcomes Rank: 18th

These are the top 10 colleges and universities in the U.S., according to the report:

1. Princeton University, New Jersey
2. Yale University, Connecticut
3. Harvard University, Massachusetts
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts
5. Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
6. Rice University, Texas
7. California Institute of Technology, California
8. Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania
9. Northwestern University, Illinois
10. Johns Hopkins University, Maryland

See how California colleges and universities ranked among the top 500 out of 822 schools included in the ranking. National rankings are in parenthesis.

1. California Institute of Technology (7)
2. Stanford University (13)
3. Claremont McKenna College (22)
4. University of California, Los Angeles (28)
5. Harvey Mudd College (29)
6. Pomona College (30)
7. University of California, San Diego (34)
8. University of California, Berkeley (35)
9. University of California, Irvine (37)
10. University of Southern California (55)
11. University of California, Santa Barbara (63)
12. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (72)
13. University of California, Davis (102)
14. Occidental College (106)
15. Scripps College (115)
16. Santa Clara University (121)
17. California State University, Long Beach (147)
18. Pepperdine University (148)
19. Biola University (169)
20. Loyola Marymount University (191)
21. Azusa Pacific University (194)
22. University of Redlands (203)
23. Pacific Union College (204)
24. University of La Verne (214)
25. University of San Francisco (215)
26. University of California, Santa Cruz (236)
27. California Lutheran University (273)
28. Thomas Aquinas College (295)
29. Chapman University (304)
30. Westmont College (310)
31. Whittier College (334)
32. University of the Pacific (345)
33. John Paul the Great Catholic University (354)

View the complete rankings on WalletHub.