New study reveals top colleges in New York for 2026. Did your school make it?

Several New York colleges and universities are some of the best in the country for 2026, according to a recent study from WalletHub.

The personal finance company’s list compared almost 800 higher education institutions across 30 key metrics ranging from student-faculty ratio to post-attendance median salary to determine the top-performing schools at the lowest possible costs to undergraduates.

“In general, universities tend to rank higher than colleges,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says. “There are still tons of high-ranking colleges, though, which offer their own advantages like smaller class sizes, more personalized learning and often safer campuses.”

Here’s how New York schools fared.

Which New York schools made it in WalletHub’s top 100?

Forty-three New York schools are some of the best nationwide and these 14 New York colleges and universities are in the top 100, according to WalletHub.

• Columbia University, ranked No. 11 with an overall score of 76.5

• Cornell University, ranked No. 29 with an overall score of 74.16

• Hamilton College, ranked No. 33 with an overall score of 73.83

• Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, ranked No. 37 with an overall score of 72.97

• Vassar College, ranked No. 39 with an overall score of 72.77

• Barnard College, ranked No. 41 with an overall score of 72.63

• New York University, ranked No. 52 with an overall score of 71.33

• Colgate University, ranked No. 61 with an overall score of 70.28

• University of Rochester, ranked No. 66 with an overall score of 68.98

• Binghamton University, ranked No. 74 with an overall score of 68.41

• Baruch College, ranked No. 85 with an overall score of 66.89

• Union College, ranked No. 87 with an overall score of 66.84

• Yeshiva University, ranked No. 98 with an overall score of 66.12

• Stony Brook University, ranked No. 100 with an overall score of 66.01

To see which other New York schools made WalletHub’s 2026 list, visit wallethub.com/edu/e/college-rankings/40750.

WalletHub’s top 10 higher education schools in the U.S.

In WalletHub’s analysis, schools that provide only undergrad or baccalaureate degree programs were considered colleges and those that offer graduate programs, like masters and doctoral degrees, were labeled universities. Here’s which 10 schools topped the overall list:

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

6. California Institute of Technology

7. Carnegie Mellon University

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How WalletHub assessed colleges and universities

WalletHub compared 791 higher education institutions in the U.S. across seven key determinants: student selectivity, cost and financing, faculty resources, campus safety, campus experience, educational outcomes and career outcomes.

The student selectivity category took into account these factors:

• 25th percentile of ACT/SAT score

• 75th percentile of ACT/SAT score

• Share of freshmen in the top 10% of their high school graduating class

The cost and financing category included these elements:

• Availability of employment services for students

The faculty resources category analyzed these components:

• Share of full-time professors among total full-time instructional staff

• Share of full-time faculty

The campus safety category took a look at these aspects:

The campus experience category examined these elements:

• Share of international students

• Percentage of students living on campus

• Availability of study abroad programs

• Gender and racial diversity

• Average earnigns from on-campus employment

• Presence of placement services for graduates

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The educational outcomes category explored these aspects:

• Credentials awarded per undergraduate enrollment

And the career outcomes category looked at these components:

• Return on educational investment

• Share of graduates offered full-time employment within six months

• Post-attendance median salary

• Share of former students outearning high school graduates

• Share of students reducing their debt

• Student loan default rate

Data used to create the ranking was collected as of Sept. 15, 2025 and the information was sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Council for Community and Economic Research, the U.S. Department of Education, COLLEGEData and PayScale.

Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network’s New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New study reveals top colleges in New York for 2026. See the list