Florida Universities: The Great News Story that Gets Better
The annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings are out and as has often been the case... Florida’s results are a great news story that seemingly continue to improve by the year. Not only is Florida once again the top state for higher education nationally. The performance of many of our universities continued to improve yet again.
Rankings are based on factors including graduation rates, social mobility, faculty resources, student selectivity, and alumni outcomes. Here’s the scorecard ranking among public universities:
University
2025 Overall National Rank
2026 Overall National Rank
Change
University of Florida (UF)
#7
#7
Stable
Florida State University (FSU)
#23
#21 (tied)
+2
University of Miami (Private)
#63
#63
Stable
University of South Florida (USF)
#45
#43
+2 spots
Florida International University (FIU)
#50
#49
+1 spot
Florida A&M University (FAMU)
#81
#81
Stable
Florida Atlantic University
#103
#100
+3
Rollins College
#1 (Regional Universities South)
#1
Stable
University of North Florida (UNF)
#126
#122
+4 spots
Stetson University
#9 (Regional Universities South)
#8
+1 spot
Florida Polytechnic University (Florida Poly)
#1 Regional
#1 Regional
Stable
Highlights:
- UF maintained its strong position as Florida's top university and one of the nation's elite publics, benefiting from high graduation rates (91%) and research funding.
- FSU saw the most notable gain, rising to its highest overall rank ever, driven by improvements in student outcomes and innovation (e.g., #7 in learning communities).
- USF hit an all-time high, fueled by record applications, retention rates (92%), and value rankings (#12 best value public).
- FIU continued its upward trajectory, emphasizing social mobility (#17 nationally in 2026).
- FAMU held steady as the top public HBCU, excelling in social mobility (#22 nationally, tied).
- UNF improved across metrics, including a record 86.6% retention rate and growth in enrollment.
Florida as a state had four public universities in the top 50 publics in 2026 (UF, FSU, USF, FIU), tying for second-most nationally. For full details, visit usnews.com/best-colleges.