The 25 best state universities in the US, ranked

• US News & World Report ranks the best universities across the US every year.
• While many of the top schools are private, every state in the union has its own public system.
• We used US News’ 2027 ranking to compile a list of the 21 top public schools.

8 (tie). University of California, Davis

National ranking: #34 (tie)

Fun fact: UC Davis is the northernmost undergraduate campus in the University of California system, above both San Francisco and Berkeley.

It was founded in 1905 and has roughly 32,000 undergraduates.

UC Davis is tied for No. 2 among universities with the best biological/agricultural engineering programs.

8 (tie). University of California, Irvine

National ranking: #34 (tie)

UC Irvine, located in Orange County, has an undergraduate population of 30,000.

The school was founded in 1965 and is best-known for its STEM programs. That, and its mascot, the anteater.

6 (tie). University of California, San Diego

National ranking: #29 (tie)

From the northernmost UC school to the southernmost — UC San Diego, established in 1960, is approximately 30 minutes from the California/Mexico border.

The university, which has 35,000 undergraduate students, is known for its strong engineering and biotechnology programs.

6 (tie). Georgia Institute of Technology

National ranking: #29 (tie)

The second Georgia university on the list is located a mile from downtown Atlanta. Georgia Tech was founded in 1885 and has an undergraduate population of about 20,000.

It was ranked the third-most innovative school, behind MIT and Arizona State.

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
   

National ranking: #27 (tie)

UNC-Chapel Hill, located less than 30 miles west of Raleigh, was founded in 1789 and has an undergraduate population of 21,000.

Besides its famed NCAA basketball team, Chapel Hill has a top 10 business school and nursing school.

1. University of Virginia
   

National ranking: #26

The University of Virginia, or UVA, was founded in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1819. It has about 18,000 undergraduate students.

In addition to its strong undergraduate programs, the UVA School of Law is the No. 4 law school in the nation, according to US News.

1. University of Michigan
   

National ranking: #25 (tie)

The University of Michigan, known colloquially as “Michigan,” was founded in Ann Arbor in 1817, which is about 40 miles west of Detroit.

Michigan has an undergraduate population of 34,000 students. It’s best known for the Ross School of Business, which ranks No. 13 among full-time MBA programs in the US.

1 (tie). University of California, Los Angeles

National ranking: #20 (tie)

UCLA, founded in 1919 and located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, is one of the biggest universities in the UC system, with 33,000 undergraduates and a well-regarded medical school, law school, and public health master’s program.

It also has just a 9% acceptance rate, making it a highly sought-after acceptance letter.

In last year’s ranking, UCLA was tied for No. 2, so it got a nice bump for the 2027 rankings.

1 (tie). University of California, Berkeley

National ranking: #20 (tie)

UC Berkeley (or simply Cal) was named by US News & World Report as the other best public school in the US. Founded in 1868, it is the oldest university in the University of California system.

Its 33,000 undergraduate students call the Bay Area home, and the university has top-five chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial/manufacturing, and materials engineering programs.

Editor’s note: This story was first published in August 2026. It was updated on September 22, 2026, to reflect the latest US News & World Report rankings.

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