Forbes: UC San Diego now among top 20 colleges nationwide

The La Jolla university held on to its third-place Forbes ranking for public colleges, behind UC Berkeley and UC Los Angeles.

Moving up one spot from last year, UC San Diego in La Jolla is now at No 20 on the 2026 Forbes’ List of America’s Top Colleges.

UCSD is the third-best public university in the US, according to Forbes’ 2026 Top 25 Public Colleges, a ranking it’s had for five years now. UC Berkeley is in first and UC Los Angeles ranks second.

For the 500 Top Colleges, Forbes uses 14 metrics to determine the best educational, financial and career outcomes for undergraduate students, including cost and academic fit.

UCSD’s total annual cost is $69,282, according to Forbes, and its average alumni salary is $156,000.

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Elisabeth Frausto

Elisabeth Frausto has been reporting on and writing about La Jolla since 2019. With dozens of local and state journalism awards to her name, Elisabeth knows the industry as well as she knows her community. When she’s not covering all things 92037, you’ll find her with coffee in hand staring at the sea.

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