Public colleges and universities account for almost 75 percent of all undergraduate students in the U.S. The best public colleges provide broad access to reputable degree programs, affordable tuition, and sprawling educational communities.
Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a 4-year degree at a public university is often lower than the cost at a private college, especially for students attending a public school in their state. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a 4-year public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually.
Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models — one is a private company with private funding, the other is owned by the state and receives state and federal funding to operate. If you’re weighing the pros and cons of private vs public college, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.
If you would like to see this ranking without school size considered, visit our best universities in the US ranking.
The following list of the best public colleges and universities is composed entirely of schools offering four-year undergraduate degree programs. We’ve identified 637 public universities in the United States. In order to be included in this list of best public colleges and universities, a school must be fully accredited and must receive direct funding from the state.
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
17%
Graduation
92%
Student body
43K
Median SAT/ACT
1430/33
University of California, Berkeley’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
26%
Graduation
93%
Student body
45K
Median SAT/ACT
1435/32
University of Michigan’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
14%
Graduation
91%
Student body
45K
Median SAT/ACT
1415/32
University of California, Los Angeles’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
23%
Graduation
94%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1430/32
University of Virginia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
56%
Graduation
82%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1345/30
University of Washington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
84%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1350/30
University of Pittsburgh’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
25%
Graduation
91%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1405/30
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
60%
Student body
12K
City College of New York’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
88%
Student body
38K
Median SAT/ACT
1390/29
University of Wisconsin–Madison’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
32%
Graduation
88%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1355/30
University of Texas at Austin’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
85%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1270/27
United States Military Academy’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
84%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1370/28
University of Minnesota’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
21%
Graduation
91%
Student body
31K
Median SAT/ACT
1405/31
Georgia Tech’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
37%
Graduation
87%
Student body
39K
Median SAT/ACT
1370/30
University of California, San Diego’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
37%
Graduation
84%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1355/30
University of California, Santa Barbara’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
86%
Student body
54K
Median SAT/ACT
1340/29
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
42%
Graduation
91%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1415/32
William & Mary’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
87%
Student body
37K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
University of Maryland, College Park’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
34%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1052/20
University of Baltimore’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
64%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1270/28
New College of Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
67%
Student body
28K
Median SAT/ACT
1261/25
University of Utah’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
80%
Student body
41K
Median SAT/ACT
1255/27
Indiana University Bloomington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
67%
Graduation
83%
Student body
43K
Median SAT/ACT
1315/28
Purdue University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
49%
Graduation
76%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1335/29
Stony Brook University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
31%
Graduation
89%
Student body
47K
Median SAT/ACT
1390/30
University of Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
72%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/25
University of Iowa’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Acceptance
13%
Graduation
87%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1335/30
United States Air Force Academy’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
65%
Student body
39K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/25
University of Arizona’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
74%
Student body
21K
Median SAT/ACT
1205/25
University of Oregon’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
63%
Student body
23K
University of Kansas’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
52%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/24
Wayne State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
54%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/22
University of New Mexico’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
50%
Graduation
54%
Student body
15K
Brooklyn College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
81%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1210/26
Michigan State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
30%
Graduation
85%
Student body
38K
Median SAT/ACT
1295/28
University of California, Irvine’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
87%
Student body
56K
Median SAT/ACT
1355/30
Ohio State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
72%
Student body
31K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/27
George Mason University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
56%
Graduation
83%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1305/29
University of Connecticut’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
46%
Graduation
86%
Student body
37K
Median SAT/ACT
1290/28
University of California, Davis’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
65%
Graduation
76%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1290/29
University of California, Santa Cruz’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
60%
Graduation
85%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1180/24
Virginia Military Institute’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
73%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/26
University of Missouri’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
65%
Graduation
83%
Student body
29K
Median SAT/ACT
1290/29
University of Massachusetts Amherst’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$1K
Acceptance
24%
Graduation
82%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1260/28
United States Merchant Marine Academy’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
72%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1210/26
University of Oklahoma’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
48%
Graduation
87%
Student body
38K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/29
University of Georgia’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
71%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/27
University of Tennessee’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
66%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/25
University of Kentucky’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Graduation
51%
Student body
4K
Washburn University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Photo Credit: University of California, Berkeley, Wheeler Hall, By Bob Collowan, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
