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Best Public Colleges

The University of Texas at Austin ranked first and University of Virginia-Main Campus ranked second in 2024 Public Colleges rankings. (Read our ranking methodology and know how to rank.)

The following list summarizes the core statistics for top 100 Public Colleges. You can check the schools in the comparison table below.

The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the top 100 Public Colleges is $22,944.
The average graduate tuition & fees of the top 100 Public Colleges is $21,076.
The average number of students is 14,961 and the students to faculty ratio is 16 to 1.
The average graduation rate is 55.53% and the transfer-out rate is 18.96%.

Best Public Colleges Comparison Table

The following table shows Best Public Colleges. You can sort the table by column by clicking/touching column titles and narrow down the college list by using buttons below.

Rank	College Name	Undergraduate Tuition & Fees	Graduate Tuition & Fees	SAT Score	Acceptance Rate	Population	Graduation Rate	Student to Faculty Ratio
1	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	$42,778	$22,954	1,370	29%	52,384	88%	18 to 1
2	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	$59,633	$36,198	1,490	17%	26,082	95%	15 to 1
3	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	$32,876	$30,646	1,450	16%	45,296	92%	19 to 1
4	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$28,659	$30,130	1,390	24%	55,211	92%	16 to 1
5	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	$39,330	$30,819	1,470	19%	31,705	92%	17 to 1
6	United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD	-	-	1,300	9%	4,450	92%	8 to 1
7	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$44,524	$28,985	-	9%	46,430	93%	18 to 1
8	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	$60,107	$55,052	1,470	18%	51,225	93%	12 to 1
9	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$45,627	$30,363	-	12%	45,307	93%	19 to 1
10	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	$36,001	$36,244	1,380	65%	50,637	85%	15 to 1
11	United States Military Academy West Point, NY	-	-	1,330	14%	4,393	85%	7 to 1
12	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	$31,767	$31,793	1,380	40%	36,700	85%	16 to 1
13	United States Air Force Academy USAF Academy, CO	-	-	1,350	14%	4,085	88%	7 to 1
14	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$40,603	$25,615	1,450	43%	48,956	89%	18 to 1
15	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	$40,328	$24,090	1,260	63%	74,014	84%	18 to 1
16	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	$39,192	$33,640	1,410	44%	56,916	85%	21 to 1
17	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	$28,794	$28,794	1,320	50%	51,528	83%	14 to 1
18	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	$49,412	$36,440	1,450	33%	9,654	91%	12 to 1
19	University of Georgia Athens, GA	$30,220	$26,576	1,270	37%	40,607	87%	17 to 1
20	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	$36,694	$34,085	1,330	57%	38,170	86%	17 to 1
21	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	$43,034	$44,106	1,330	54%	27,003	84%	16 to 1
22	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	$39,293	$34,720	1,390	58%	32,229	83%	18 to 1
23	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	$29,837	$27,056	1,280	87%	34,734	64%	18 to 1
24	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	$44,040	$41,224	1,250	84%	50,023	82%	17 to 1
25	University of Delaware Newark, DE	$39,720	$19,546	1,290	65%	24,039	79%	15 to 1
26	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI	$18,691	$20,609	-	73%	10,274	71%	19 to 1
27	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	$26,665	$25,342	1,220	77%	28,308	75%	16 to 1
28	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	$34,338	$31,029	1,230	77%	31,304	76%	18 to 1
29	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	$40,306	$37,383	1,460	45%	40,792	89%	18 to 1
30	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	$21,683	$26,707	1,310	25%	44,161	83%	17 to 1
31	University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK	$26,404	$25,703	-	-	6,607	32%	11 to 1
32	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	$38,365	$41,227	1,400	51%	60,540	88%	17 to 1
33	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	$33,406	$35,459	1,170	92%	31,547	70%	17 to 1
34	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	$36,402	$31,555	1,400	77%	54,955	85%	16 to 1
35	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	$25,950	$23,540	-	85%	20,945	62%	18 to 1
36	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro, NM	$26,312	$27,852	1,180	54%	1,689	56%	9 to 1
37	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	$38,882	$30,138	1,220	87%	13,953	76%	16 to 1
38	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	$26,580	$26,580	1,220	76%	22,649	63%	16 to 1
39	University of Vermont Burlington, VT	$43,890	$32,996	1,340	60%	14,088	79%	17 to 1
40	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	$44,376	$44,376	1,400	60%	7,403	79%	17 to 1
41	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	$30,790	$30,528	1,240	76%	22,224	81%	17 to 1
42	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	$28,772	$30,220	1,130	72%	30,936	70%	20 to 1
43	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	$31,505	$28,641	1,230	79%	33,747	60%	18 to 1
44	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO	$31,678	$25,278	1,260	73%	7,080	64%	18 to 1
45	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	$27,748	$20,318	1,200	77%	23,805	66%	16 to 1
46	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	$41,997	$32,511	-	43%	52,319	84%	21 to 1
47	Dakota State University Madison, SD	$12,735	$11,931	1,190	98%	3,241	49%	18 to 1
48	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$45,742	$29,555	-	28%	26,420	85%	17 to 1
49	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	$24,568	$17,643	1,240	62%	7,629	85%	13 to 1
50	Illinois State University Normal, IL	$23,479	$12,646	1,110	89%	20,683	66%	19 to 1
51	Truman State University Kirksville, MO	$17,870	$11,712	1,235	80%	3,960	68%	13 to 1
52	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI	$18,516	$21,100	-	76%	10,104	68%	19 to 1
53	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	$28,631	$29,962	1,235	74%	37,348	71%	22 to 1
54	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	$46,042	$29,637	-	25%	42,006	88%	19 to 1
55	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	$35,804	$31,952	1,160	77%	17,473	71%	17 to 1
56	Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR	$13,826	$12,416	1,100	70%	13,190	55%	15 to 1
57	University of Mississippi University, MS	$26,980	$26,980	1,100	98%	22,300	68%	16 to 1
58	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI	$17,916	$20,673	-	83%	11,079	64%	19 to 1
59	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	$34,218	$34,550	1,120	70%	19,074	63%	14 to 1
60	South Dakota State University Brookings, SD	$12,809	$16,917	1,150	99%	11,327	60%	18 to 1
61	Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus Portales, NM	$8,718	$7,226	960	55%	5,106	40%	16 to 1
62	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA	$17,040	$20,524	1,120	69%	43,190	48%	22 to 1
63	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	$46,024	$29,662	-	42%	39,679	85%	21 to 1
64	University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD	$12,942	$12,768	1,195	99%	9,856	61%	14 to 1
65	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	$27,853	$26,574	1,230	91%	14,747	66%	17 to 1
66	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	$30,995	$22,013	-	30%	22,000	85%	20 to 1
67	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	$39,890	$45,034	1,360	50%	33,767	84%	13 to 1
68	University of New Hampshire at Manchester Manchester, NH	$35,530	$16,844	1,140	87%	534	65%	7 to 1
69	Mississippi University for Women Columbus, MS	$8,092	$8,092	-	100%	2,339	38%	11 to 1
70	University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO	$30,734	$30,760	1,440	75%	15,703	56%	14 to 1
71	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	$29,174	$29,102	1,130	81%	22,017	61%	13 to 1
72	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	$35,396	$28,426	1,250	85%	17,153	70%	17 to 1
73	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	$45,014	$29,377	-	26%	35,937	86%	18 to 1
74	Ball State University Muncie, IN	$28,766	$29,196	1,160	72%	19,777	63%	15 to 1
75	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	$22,467	$28,657	1,272	40%	68,346	75%	29 to 1
76	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	$40,482	$33,410	1,280	80%	47,005	81%	17 to 1
77	Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA	$16,866	$12,726	1,190	73%	10,839	58%	23 to 1
78	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	$17,928	$13,704	1,110	91%	22,535	57%	19 to 1
79	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	$26,451	$21,550	1,030	95%	21,953	53%	17 to 1
80	University of Houston Houston, TX	$22,191	$19,109	1,230	70%	46,700	65%	21 to 1
81	Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, MA	$23,910	$19,984	-	95%	1,425	79%	12 to 1
82	University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI	$18,706	$18,344	-	85%	7,234	53%	18 to 1
83	University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI	$16,887	$19,726	-	82%	5,188	61%	18 to 1
84	Utah State University Logan, UT	$24,223	$24,008	1,180	94%	27,943	57%	19 to 1
85	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA	$24,146	$23,912	1,190	89%	15,219	52%	18 to 1
86	University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN	$22,058	$20,904	1,120	95%	9,178	52%	16 to 1
87	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH	$20,880	$23,352	1,110	87%	25,854	65%	19 to 1
88	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	$51,186	-	1,170	82%	1,512	82%	10 to 1
89	Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY	$21,480	$16,044	1,025	96%	15,801	48%	17 to 1
90	Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA	$17,529	$9,041	1,130	89%	9,604	55%	17 to 1
91	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL	$13,244	$31,050	1,020	90%	11,107	56%	11 to 1
92	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO	$35,820	$35,040	1,130	57%	15,181	57%	13 to 1
93	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	$17,324	$21,126	1,230	41%	49,600	75%	22 to 1
94	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$29,453	$26,260	1,410	38%	18,312	84%	19 to 1
95	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI	$17,854	$19,976	-	90%	7,964	56%	21 to 1
96	University of Louisiana at Monroe Monroe, LA	$21,290	$21,500	1,210	75%	8,398	51%	17 to 1
97	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN	$33,717	$27,992	1,140	81%	25,979	54%	13 to 1
98	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	$30,350	$27,123	1,410	49%	25,710	78%	19 to 1
99	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	$23,210	$18,301	1,084	89%	38,171	56%	21 to 1
100	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH	$10,117	$6,795	1,080	80%	11,071	53%	18 to 1
	Average	$22,944	$21,076	1,140	77%	14,961	56%	16 to 1