We remain a prime launchpad for the American Dream!
Hunter College was recognized as a premier engine of upward mobility, securing the top spot for Social Mobility among regional universities in the northern United States in the U.S. News & World Report's 2026 Best Colleges ranking.
Hunter tied for the No. 1 position with its sister institution, Baruch College, underscoring the profound impact of the City University of New York system in transforming students’ lives. This ranking specifically measures a school’s success in graduating students who receive federal Pell Grants, which are typically awarded to undergraduates with exceptional financial need.
CUNY’s System-Wide Success
The achievement is part of a broader success story for the CUNY system. The 2026 Best Colleges ranking featured a remarkable 10 CUNY colleges on its list of the best schools for social mobility and return on investment. The City College of New York ranked an impressive No. 9 among all national universities. In the northern U.S. region, CUNY’s dominance was clear, with six of its senior colleges placing in the top 10 for social mobility.
“We have always been proud of our standout successes in providing our students and graduates with a rigorous education that will pay off for them, and this latest ranking validates that achievement,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is unmatched in social mobility, and this recognition is just yet another motivator for us to double down on this focus moving forward.”
When compiling its rankings, U.S. News groups institutions by the kinds of degrees they offer and their geographic location. The rankings are determined by factors including graduation and retention rates, peer assessments, and financial resources, with social mobility being a key component.
A Leader Among Public Schools
Hunter College also recently was ranked as No. 2 in Forbes’s list of “The 25 Colleges With The Highest Payoff,” meaning those schools that offer students the best returns on their investment in terms of high earnings potential for a relatively low price. The distinction, which Forbes calculated by examining student debt ratios against their reported median income after 20 years, is shared by other CUNY colleges.
“Four of the top five colleges on this list belong to the City University of New York system, which routinely outperforms all other state systems on this list, thanks to bargain basement tuition and a high number of students who commute to school from their family homes, minimizing the number with debt,” Forbes reported.
