CSUN students celebrating their graduation in their cap and gowns holding up their diplomas.
Press Release Social Mobility

CSU Leads National Rankings for Advancing Social Mobility and Affordability

 

Four recent college rankings highlight the transformative power of a CSU degree to improve students’ lives.

CSUN students celebrating their graduation in their cap and gowns holding up their diplomas.

Photo c​ourtesy of CSUN

 

The California State University (CSU) is once again recognized for providing a high-quality education at an unequaled value, opening doors to educational opportunities for all Californians. Universities in the CSU system are prominently featured in four recent national college rankings, reinforcing the power of a CSU degree to change the trajectory of students' lives forever.  


Wall Street Jo​​​​urnal/Col​lege Pulse Rankings

When it comes to enhancing students' upward socioeconomic trajectory through higher education, the CSU is unmatched. Seven of the top 10 universities in the country for Wall Street Journal's 2025 Social Mobility Ranking belong to the CSU system, and 12 CSUs ranked in the top 25. Stanislaus State ranked No. 2 and Cal State San Bernardino ranked No. 3.

Wall Street Journal also ranked CSUs high on their list of the 500 Best Colleges in the U.S., with 15 CSUs among the top third. San José State ranked 16th and Cal Poly Pomona ranked 21st on this list. When extracting private universities from this ranking, 13 CSUs ranked among the top 50 public universities in the nation, with San José State ranked 4th, Cal Poly Pomona ranked 7th and Stanislaus State ranked 9th.  The publication also ranked CSUs high on lists for “best value," “student experience" and “best salaries." (See the Wall Street Journal CSU rankings in list form.)


Washington Monthly's C​ollege Guide & Rankings 

For the seventh consecutive year, all 23 universities in the CSU system ranked in the top 100 of Washington Monthly's 2024 Best Bang for the Buck Schools in the West, with seven campuses dominating the top 10: Cal State LA, CSU Dominguez Hills, Stanislaus State, Cal Maritime, CSUN, Sacramento State and Cal State San Bernardino. The rankings consider factors like the cost of attendance, the number of enrolled students and graduates who are Pell-eligible—demonstrating significant financial need—and the amount of debt the average student accrues. 

Universities across the CSU are also featured in Washington Monthly's four-year universities rankings, which place special emphasis on what they call a university's "contribution to public good." The magazine considers a university's impact in three key areas: social mobility, research and providing opportunities for public service.  

In its Bachelor's Colleges Ranking, which evaluates schools that almost exclusively award bachelor's degrees, Washington Monthly ranked Cal Maritime No. 1 in the nation. Six CSU campuses also ranked in Washington Monthly's top 10 Master's Universities Ranking— featuring ​schools that award a significant number of master's degrees but few doctoral degrees: Cal State LA, CSUN, Sac State, Chico State, Stanislaus State and CSU Dominguez Hills. Filling out the top 100 for Master's Universities are Cal Poly Humboldt, CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, CSU San Marcos, Cal Poly Pomona, San José State, Sonoma State and CSU Channel Islands.​

Among Washington Monthly's 2024 National Unive​rsity Rankings, Fres​no State ranked No. 22. Other CSUs on the national list include Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, San Francisco State, San Diego and Cal State East Bay. The National Universities category are institutions that award a significant number of doctoral degrees. (See the Washington Monthly CSU rankings in list form.)​


Third Way's Economic Mobility Index

The CSU is recognized among the nation's best for social mobility by the Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tank Third Way. According to Third Way, 10 of the top 25 universities in the 2024 Economic Mobility Index are in the CSU system, recognizing how well the institutions serve low-income students and how quickly they provide a return on their investment. (See the Third Way CSU rankings in list form.)

Forbes' America's Top Colleges  

Twenty-one CSUs ranked in Forbes' 2025 America's Top Colleges list, with Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, San Diego State, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton in t​he top 100, and in​ their 38 Great Colleges with Less Admissions Stress list.  

Cal ​Poly and San Diego State also ranked in Forbes' Top 25 Public Colleges list for 2025, while CSU Dominguez Hills ranked in Forbes' Top 25 Colleges with the Highest Payoff list for 2025, boasting that it takes only 8 to 10 months after graduation for alumni to recoup the net cost of their undergraduate degrees.

Forbes' ranking methodology actually incorporates Third Way's price-to-earnings premium metric in measuring colleges' return on investment for their annual list. (See the Forb​es CSU rankings in list form​.)


These latest rankings should come as no surprise as the CSU is routinely recognized for providing great value and promoting upward social mobility for its students and alumni. In June, all 23 California State Universities were included in Money magazine's 2024 list of the “Best Colleges in A​merica," and two recent reports from Georgetown University and the College Futures Foundation place CSUs among the top California colleges offering the best return on investment. In 2023, two other college rankings scored the CSU high for social mobility.  


See the full lists for each of the rankings below:​​


Wall Street Jou​rnal/College Pulse Rankings

Social Mobility
7 CSUs in top 10 (12 in top 25):
Stanislaus (2)
San Bernardino (3)
Fresno (4)
Los Angeles (5)
Long Beach (7)
Northridge (9)
Pomona (10)
Fullerton (11)
Sacramento (13)
San Marcos (19)
San Francisco (20)
Monterey Bay (23)

Best Colleges in the U.S.
15 CSUs in top third (*13 CSUs in top 50 public colleges)​:
San José (16)*
Pomo​na (21)*
Stanislaus (24)*
San Bernardino (46)*
San Luis Obispo (48)*
Fresno (51)*
San Francisco (66)*
Long Beach (67)*
Sacramento (72)*
Northridge (81)*
Fullerton (85)*
Los Angeles (95)*
San Marcos (97)*
Monterey Bay (158)
San Diego (163)

Best Value
15 CSUs in top third:
Stanislaus (10)
Los Angeles (14)
Fresno (16)
Fullerton (17)
Long Beach (22)
San Bernardino (34)
Northridge (35)
Pomona (36)
San José (42)
San Luis Obispo (46)
Sacramento (51)
San Marcos (57)
San Francisco (61)
San Diego (68)
Monterey Bay (103)​​

Student Experience
Fresno (15)
Stanislaus (21)
San Bernardino (27)
Northridge (29)
Sacramento (40)
San Marcos (51)
San Francisco (80)
Long Beach (83)
Los Angeles (129)
Pomona (165)
San José (212)
Monterey Bay (230)
Fullerton (266)
San Luis Obispo (465)

Best Salaries
San José (17)
San Luis Obispo (23)
San Francisco (32)
Pomona (46)
Sacramento (51)
Stanislaus (68)
San Marcos (83)
Los Angeles (102)
Fresno (104)
San Bernardino (107)
Northridge (121)
Long Beach (158)
Fullerton (162)
Monterey Bay (216)
San Diego (263)​


Washington Monthly's College Guide & Rankings 

2024 Best Bang for the Buck Schools in the West
All 23 CSUs in top 100:
Los Angeles (2)
Dominguez Hills (3)
Stanislaus (4)
Cal Maritime (5)
Northridge (6)
Sacramento (8)
San Bernardino (9)
Fresno (13)
Bakersfield (14)
Long Beach (15)
Fullerton (16)
Chico (17)
Pomona (19)
San Luis Obispo (22)
Monterey Bay (23)
Channel Islands (24)
Sonoma (26)
San Marcos (27)
San Francisco (30)
San José (31)
East Bay (33)
Humboldt (41)
San Diego (55)

2024 Top Bachelor's Colleges
Cal Maritime (1)

2024 Top Master's Universities
Los Angeles (3)
Northridge (4)
Sacramento (5)
Chico (6)
Stanislaus (7)
Dominguez Hills (8)
Humboldt (13)
Bakersfield (28)
Monterey Bay (29)
San Luis Obispo (32)
San Marcos (38)
Pomona (41)
San José (51)
Sonoma (80)
Channel Islands (87)

2024 Top National Universities
Fresno State (22)
San Bernardino (31)
Long Beach (44)
Fullerton (60)
San Francisco (76)
San Diego (99)
East Bay (145)​

Best Colleges for Master's Degrees
Best Social Work: Chico (1), San Francisco (3)
Best Nursing: Los Angeles (2)
Best Teacher Education: Northridge (2)
Best Communication Disorders: Long Beach (1)
Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology: Long Beach (1)
Best Public Administration: San Francisco (2)

Third Way's Economic Mobility Index

Third Way groups institutions by Economic Mobility Index (EMI) tiers, with tier one schools performing the best at providing economic benefits to students who need them the most. Institutions in tier one EMI with the lowest price-to-earnings premium for low-income students are leading the pack in serving their most marginalized students. 

10 CSUs rank in Economic Mobility Index Top 25:
Los Angeles (1)
Dominguez Hills (2)
Stanislaus (6)
Fresno (7)
Bakersfield (9)
San Bernardino (10)
Northridge (17)
Long Beach (22)
Fullerton (23)
Sacramento (25)

Forbes' America's Top Colleges  ​

Forbes' 2025 America's Top Colleges List
4 CSUs in top 100  (21 CSUs among list of 500):
San Luis Obispo (57)
San Diego (77)
Long Beach (89)
Fullerton (100)​​​

Forbes' Top 25 Public Colleges
San Luis Obispo
San Diego

Forbes' Top 25 Colleges with the Highest Payoff
Dominguez Hills

38 Great Colleges with Less Admissions Stress
San Luis Obispo
San Diego
Long Beach
Fullerton​​

See more rankings and accolades recognizing the CSU. 

Affordability