THE BEST COLLEGES IN AMERICA 2023

Best Public Colleges

These nationally competitive public colleges provide an excellent value for in-state students. All score in the top third of our 2023-2024 rating.

Stars	College Name	Acceptance Rate	Est. Full Price 2023-24	Est. Price with Average Grant	Graduation Rate
	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	44%	$30,900	$19,200	81%
	California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	33%	$31,100	$22,200	83%
	California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Pomona, CA	61%	$29,500	$13,900	76%
	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA	82%	$28,600	$18,100	68%
	California State University, Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA	85%	$26,100	$7,900	55%
	California State University, Channel Islands Camarillo, CA	93%	$29,200	$15,500	70%
	California State University, Chico Chico, CA	85%	$27,400	$14,700	74%
	California State University, Dominguez Hills Carson, CA	90%	$27,200	$4,800	63%
	California State University, East Bay Hayward, CA	82%	$27,900	$13,500	68%
	California State University, Fresno Fresno, CA	97%	$23,400	$6,800	67%
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's Best Colleges: More Rankings Best Public Colleges Best Colleges in the West Best Colleges in the South Best Colleges in the Northeast Best Colleges in the Midwest Best Colleges with High Acceptance Rates SEE ALL
	California State University, Fullerton Fullerton, CA	59%	$29,400	$5,300	76%
	California State University, Long Beach Long Beach, CA	47%	$26,200	$9,800	81%
	California State University, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	91%	$29,300	$2,900	65%
	California State University, Monterey Bay Seaside, CA	93%	$22,500	$6,500	72%
	California State University, Northridge Northridge, CA	88%	$24,300	$9,300	66%
	California State University, Sacramento Sacramento, CA	94%	$29,400	$8,300	68%
	California State University, San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA	91%	$26,000	$3,500	67%
	California State University, San Marcos San Marcos, CA	93%	$25,800	$15,300	63%
	California State University, Stanislaus Turlock, CA	95%	$24,700	$7,800	70%
	Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, SC	86%	$32,200	$20,900	75%
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	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	57%	$40,000	$28,100	81%
	CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College New York, NY	51%	$35,700	$4,100	71%
	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	46%	$26,100	$4,900	57%
	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY	45%	$33,300	$5,400	58%
	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY	58%	$32,500	$3,500	61%
	Florida International University Miami, FL	64%	$25,100	$10,100	68%
	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	37%	$24,600	$13,600	83%
	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	91%	$32,100	$20,200	74%
	Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA	16%	$31,200	$18,600	89%
	Illinois State University Normal, IL	92%	$33,700	$22,500	72%
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	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	85%	$28,600	$14,300	78%
	Iowa State University Ames, IA	91%	$23,200	$16,500	72%
	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	86%	$30,700	$19,900	84%
	Maine Maritime Academy Castine, ME	58%	$30,700	$23,000	71%
	Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, MA	90%	$31,300	$20,800	79%
	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	83%	$31,200	$9,400	80%
	Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI	86%	$33,800	$19,100	70%
	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO	85%	$26,100	$14,600	69%
	New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ	69%	$41,200	$18,100	82%
	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	47%	$26,200	$15,400	81%
	Ohio State University Columbus, OH	57%	$30,400	$20,900	81%
	Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK	68%	$26,000	$15,700	67%
	Purdue University West Lafayette, IN	69%	$23,900	$15,700	79%
	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	68%	$35,800	$12,700	81%
	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	38%	$33,000	$7,400	79%
	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	93%	$28,800	$14,600	67%
	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	84%	$30,800	$15,700	71%
	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	94%	$28,000	$7,600	69%
	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	48%	$30,700	$17,600	75%
	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse, NY	65%	$30,800	$23,800	73%
	SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck, NY	74%	$29,400	$21,200	74%
	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY	70%	$28,100	$18,900	75%
	SUNY Polytechnic Institute Utica, NY	77%	$26,600	$11,000	67%
	Texas A & M International University Laredo, TX	54%	$24,100	$5,500	53%
	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	64%	$33,200	$23,900	83%
	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	62%	$37,600	$14,200	85%
	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	29%	$31,200	$17,800	82%
	The University of Texas Permian Basin Odessa, TX	65%	$26,900	$10,100	51%
	Towson University Towson, MD	88%	$29,500	$11,900	73%
	Truman State University Kirksville, MO	61%	$23,900	$12,300	74%
	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	14%	$43,500	$18,900	93%
	University of California, Davis Davis, CA	49%	$39,400	$17,800	88%
	University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA	29%	$38,000	$12,500	86%
	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	11%	$38,000	$14,400	92%
	University of California, Merced Merced, CA	87%	$40,100	$12,400	71%
	University of California, Riverside Riverside, CA	65%	$38,200	$14,500	79%
	University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA	34%	$37,900	$16,800	88%
	University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	29%	$39,500	$18,600	85%
	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	36%	$25,200	$12,400	74%
	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	56%	$37,500	$23,800	83%
	University of Delaware Newark, DE	72%	$33,100	$20,500	78%
	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	30%	$22,500	$10,500	87%
	University of Georgia Athens, GA	40%	$29,300	$18,100	85%
	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	79%	$32,700	$11,500	67%
	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	60%	$33,200	$15,300	86%
	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	86%	$27,600	$18,900	72%
	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	81%	$31,100	$7,400	71%
	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	52%	$29,400	$18,400	82%
	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	66%	$34,000	$18,500	80%
	University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	20%	$33,800	$20,600	93%
	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	73%	$30,800	$18,700	81%
	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	77%	$30,000	$19,600	71%
	University of New Hampshire Durham, NH	87%	$36,700	$24,000	74%
	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	20%	$26,000	$12,300	90%
	University of North Texas at Dallas Dallas, TX	90%	$25,300	$7,000	52%
	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA	86%	$22,400	$16,300	68%
	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	49%	$25,300	$12,200	73%
	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	95%	$25,400	$13,900	63%
	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	21%	$38,100	$21,900	94%
	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	53%	$32,100	$9,300	84%
	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI	74%	$19,000	$13,800	68%
	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	60%	$28,700	$14,500	87%
	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	64%	$34,800	$19,400	79%
	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	56%	$30,000	$21,600	85%
	Washington State University Pullman, WA	86%	$30,100	$12,700	65%
	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	96%	$27,900	$12,200	72%
	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	37%	$42,600	$19,700	90%

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Published June 22, 2023. Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, Money/Witlytic calculations.