Cal Poly Humboldt Among Money Magazine’s Top Colleges

Press release from Cal Poly Humboldt:

Cal Poly Humboldt is one of the best colleges in the nation, receiving four out of five stars, according to Money magazine.

The 2026 “Best Colleges” list includes hundreds of private and public universities throughout the country. To determine which made the list, Money analyzed 2,400 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges in the country. Of those, 735 schools made the cut based on the quality of education (30%), affordability (40%), and outcomes (30%).

The Best Colleges ratings “combine the most accurate pricing estimates available with indicators of alumni financial success, along with an analysis of how much value a college adds when compared to other schools that take in similar students,” according to the magazine.

Universities that made the list were ranked from 2.5 to five stars.

The scores were measured according to 25 different factors—including student debt, alumni salaries, costs, , financial aid, and graduation rates—before being broken down into three categories:

• Quality of Education: Money researchers analyzed factors such as student-to-faculty ratios, graduation rates, and the number of low-income students that received Pell grants.
• Affordability: Researchers assessed key measures like the net cost of a degree, and how much debt students took on and their ability to repay it.
• Outcomes: Money weighed post-graduation employment and earnings to measure outcomes before assigning each college a star rating.

Money compiles the annual list every year to help students and their families make informed decisions, according to the publication. The researchers use data from sources including the U.S. Department of Education, and more.

Cal Poly Humboldt has previously ranked among the top colleges in the nation, including Princeton Review’s “Best in the West”; U.S. News & World Report’s top public schools in the West; Washington Monthly’s Top Master’s University; and the Peace Corps’ 2026 top volunteer-producing colleges and universities.