Forbes Ranking of Top Colleges in U.S. Include Eight in Connecticut

Eight colleges and universities located in the state of Connecticut have earned a place on the Forbes Top 500 list of the leading higher education institutions in the U.S. for 2026, recently published by the magazine with the start of the 2025-26 academic year.

Two of the Connecticut schools listed – University of Connecticut and Charter Oak State College – are public institutions, the others are private non-for-profit.

Making the list, and their ranking, are Yale University, #9; Wesleyan University, #51; Trinity College, #88; University of Connecticut, #119; Connecticut College, #145; Fairfield University, #281; Charter Oak State College, #389; and Quinnipiac University, #394.

Forbes ranked U.S. colleges and universities based on return on investment, average student debt levels and outcomes for their graduates, according to the publication.  They explain that “schools ranked highly on our list if their students returned after their fist year, graduated on time, secured high salaries after graduation and left college with little student debt.

Yale was the only school in Connecticut to be ranked in Forbes Top 10, following MIT, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, Harvard, Williams College and Johns Hopkins.  The University of Pennsylvania rounded out the top 10.

Two of the Connecticut schools listed – University of Connecticut and Charter Oak State College – are public institutions, the others are private non-for-profit.

Making the list, and their ranking, are Yale University, #9; Wesleyan University, #51; Trinity College, #88; University of Connecticut, #119; Connecticut College, #145; Fairfield University, #281; Charter Oak State College, #389; and Quinnipiac University, #394.

Forbes ranked U.S. colleges and universities based on return on investment, average student debt levels and outcomes for their graduates, according to the publication.  They explain that “schools ranked highly on our list if their students returned after their fist year, graduated on time, secured high salaries after graduation and left college with little student debt.

Yale was the only school in Connecticut to be ranked in Forbes Top 10, following MIT, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, Harvard, Williams College and Johns Hopkins.  The University of Pennsylvania rounded out the top 10.