Columbia University and Cornell University once again sit atop New York’s higher-education hierarchy, according to the latest national universities rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Columbia, in New York City, landed at No. 12 nationally, with Cornell in Ithaca close behind at No. 14.
The annual rankings, widely regarded as among the most prominent college lists in the United States, evaluated more than 1,700 colleges and universities this cycle. The publication focused on academic quality and measures such as graduation rates, retention rates and social mobility. One change is new this year: U.S. News added a ranking factor measuring graduates’ typical earnings by major.
At the very top of the national list, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology claimed the No. 1 spot among national universities. Among national liberal arts colleges, Williams College held the top position — a title the Massachusetts school has kept for more than two decades.
How New York’s universities stacked up
Ten New York universities made the strongest showing in the state, per the latest state-by-state breakdown. Two Ivies lead, but the list spans private research universities, public SUNY campuses and smaller institutions from Manhattan to the Southern Tier.
| University | Location | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia University | New York City | No. 12 |
| Cornell University | Ithaca | No. 14 |
| New York University | New York City | No. 31 |
| University of Rochester | Rochester | No. 49 |
| Stony Brook University (SUNY) | Stony Brook | No. 59 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy | No. 69 |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse | No. 72 |
| Binghamton University (SUNY) | Binghamton | No. 73 |
| Fordham University | New York City | No. 85 |
| Yeshiva University | New York City | No. 90 |
The spread is telling. Columbia and Cornell, both Ivy League members, have regularly represented New York at the top of these annual rankings. But the state’s showing runs deep: two SUNY campuses — Stony Brook and Binghamton — cracked the national top 75, and seven of the ten ranked schools sit outside New York City, from Rochester to Troy to Syracuse.
What changed in this year’s methodology
The evaluation of more than 1,700 institutions leaned on academic quality plus outcome measures — graduation rates, retention rates and social mobility, according to the U.S. News rankings center. The new earnings-by-major factor moves the measure toward weighing what graduates typically make in their field, not just how many finish their degrees.
Nationally, the top of the university list included the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology among the leading names in the publication’s latest edition.
Why the rankings matter to New York families
The full rankings, with details on each institution’s performance across the methodology’s factors, are available through U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings hub.
