America’s Top Universities Ranked By Forbes
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Home to the highest number of top 100 universities in the world, the U.S. has no shortage of exceptional schools to apply to.
From the range of programs to tuition costs and student life, prospective students have a range of factors to consider when deciding which school is best for them.
Forbes’ annual America’s Top Colleges rankings provides valuable insights by evaluating U.S. universities on 14 key metrics, including median debt and salary, to determine which colleges offer the best educational, financial, and career outcomes for all students.
This chart shows the top 25 American colleges in 2024 from Forbes’ top 100 list, as well as their respective median post-graduate 10-year salary and median debt after graduation.
The Top Universities in the U.S. 2024
RankNameStateMedian Debt After GraduationMedian 10-year Salary
1Princeton UniversityNJ$7,559$189,400
2Stanford UniversityCA$12,999$177,500
3Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMA$13,792$189,400
4Yale UniversityCT$4,926$168,300
5University of California, BerkeleyCA$7,238$167,000
6Columbia UniversityNY$16,849$156,000
7University of PennsylvaniaPA$12,499$171,800
8Harvard UniversityMA$9,004$171,400
9Rice UniversityTX$10,818$152,100
10Cornell UniversityNY$8,309$155,400
11Northwestern UniversityIL$6,973$141,300
12Johns Hopkins UniversityMD$9,843$142,300
13University of California, Los AngelesCA$6,418$144,400
14University of ChicagoIL$12,150$150,600
15Vanderbilt UniversityTN$8,872$148,000
16Dartmouth CollegeNH$6,404$173,300
17Williams CollegeMA$4,143$169,200
18Brown UniversityRI$10,059$155,000
19Claremont McKenna CollegeCA$7,631$167,000
20Duke UniversityNC$6,351$158,700
21University of California, San DiegoCA$6,437$151,500
22California Institute of TechnologyCA$12,553$168,600
23Wellesley CollegeMA$5,608$134,100
24Amherst CollegeMA$9,293$139,700
25Bowdoin CollegeME$10,512$152,900
New Jersey-based Princeton University took the number one spot in 2024. Princeton is a renowned private Ivy League research university and the fourth oldest college in the U.S., known for its academic excellence in undergraduate programs.
Princeton aced all 14 of Forbes’ metrics. Notably, the university had a 97% six-year graduation rate for low-income students, and provides generous financial aid, covering 100% of tuition and housing costs for students coming from families that earn $65,000 or less, for the class of 2026.
Notable alumni include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and American business exec and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.
California Universities Shine Among Top-Ranking Schools
Overall, California is home to the most colleges and universities in Forbes’ top 25 list, including Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Los Angeles.
In 2024, Stanford ranked first globally for teaching, and second overall, according to Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings.
Fifth-ranked UC Berkeley was the top-ranked public university in 2024. The school is not only known for its wide range of academic programs, offering over 350 degrees, but also its athletics.
Berkeley has produced 121 Olympic gold medal winners as well as famous pro athletes like NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, NBA all-star and 2024 champion Jaylen Brown, and former U.S. women’s national soccer team player Alex Morgan.
Methodology: Ranking the Best American Universities
Forbes collected and analyzed data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the U.S Department of Education’s College Scorecard, considering a collection of metrics to rank universities.
The considered metrics and their weighting are:
Alumni salary (20%)
Debt (15%)
Graduation rate (15%)
Forbes American Leaders List (15%)
Return on investment (15%)
Retention rate (10%)
Academic success (10%)
For the metric Forbes American Leaders List, Forbes gauges the entrepreneurial success of a university’s graduates by counting how many list makers each school had on the latest Forbes 30 Under 30, Forbes 400, and Richest Self-Made Women and Most Powerful Women lists.
Along with this, they also considered the undergraduate alma maters of members in high-ranking Federal governance positions as well as winners of notable prizes and awards like the Nobel Prize and Oscars.
Acceptance rates are not considered by Forbes in their metrics for rankings.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To learn more about the best universities in the U.S., check out this graphic that visualizes the top university in every U.S. region.
The post Ranked: America’s Top Universities in 2024 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.