20 best public universities in the U.S. for 2027

Six of the 20 best public universities in the U.S. for 2027 are in California, led by University of California, Berkeley, according to Forbes.

Forbes Magazine recently released its ranking of the top public universities in the U.S. for 2027. California dominates the list, with six institutions among the top 20. Following California, both Virginia and New York each have two universities featured in this elite group.

A key finding from the ranking highlights the strong financial prospects for graduates. The median salary for alumni 20 years after graduation consistently exceeds 100,000 USD per year, specifically ranging from 103,200 to 116,300 USD (approximately 2.6-3 billion dong).

Currently, annual tuition fees for international students at these top-ranked universities vary significantly. Fees range from 29,800 to 70,500 USD per year (equivalent to 770 million-1.8 billion dong). Binghamton University offers the lowest tuition, while the highest is at University of Virginia for third and fourth-year data science programs.

No.	University	State	International Student Tuition (USD/year)	Median Salary 20 Years Post-Graduation (USD/year)
1	University of California, Berkeley	California	57.500	111.500
2	University of California, Los Angeles	California	55.700	110.500
3	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	Michigan	67.100	113.000
4	University of California, San Diego	California	54.900	107.400
5	Georgia Institute of Technology	Georgia	35.600	117.700
6	University of Virginia	Virginia	57.400-70.500	111.800
7	University of Washington	Washington	44.500	116.300
8	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign	Illinois	42.200-53.100	112.200
9	University of Florida	Florida	34.600	106.400
10	University of California, Davis	California	54.900	103.400
11	University of California, Irvine	California	54.900	102.900
12	University of California, Santa Barbara	California	54.900	106.500
13	University of Texas, Austin	Texas	42.600-51.100	106.200
14	University of Maryland, College Park	Maryland	42.000	106.200
15	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	North Carolina	47.500	103.200
16	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin	45.500	106.200
17	Purdue University	Indiana	32.100-36.200	110.400
18	William & Mary	Virginia	46.200	106.800
19	Binghamton University	New York	29.800	111.600
20	Stony Brook University	New York	31.100	107.300

Forbes evaluated over 200 public universities this year, basing its rankings on the government's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and statistics from various agencies and research organizations.

The ranking employs seven evaluation criteria. The median salary of alumni carries the largest weight at 20%. Each accounting for 15% are student debt rates, graduation rates, the number of alumni who become successful or influential individuals, and the value of a university degree relative to its cost. Academic success and first-year student retention rates each contribute 10%.