SALT LAKE CITY — The latest U.S. News Best Colleges rankings were a mix of good and bad for Beehive State universities on Tuesday as BYU and the University of Utah dropped, while Utah State University gained a few spots.
Of all Utah schools, BYU ranked the highest, coming in at No. 110, a drop of two spots from last year. The University of Utah's fall was a bit steeper as the school fell from No. 136 a year ago to No. 151 in the latest rankings.
Utah State University had a reason for a collective smile as the school jumped 17 spots over a year to No. 242.
"Rankings reflect the criteria of those who publish them, but they don’t define who we are," Utah State leadership shared in a statement. "USU continues to provide incredible value to Utah and beyond, with strong academics, research, and student experiences."
Max Roth takes deep dive into U.S. News college rankings:
According to Utah State, the school was ranked by Washington Monthly as the top public institution in Utah for tuition and tax dollars.
Utah rankings over last five years:
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| University of Utah | 151 | 136 | 115 | 105 | 99 |
| BYU | 110 | 109 | 115 | 89 | 79 |
| Utah State University | 242 | 259 | 269 | 250 | 249 |
“It takes us a better part of a year for us to bring these rankings to the public," explained U.S. News managing editor for education LaMont Jones. "We began doing these to provide transparency, to provide information to the public that’s easy to digest in one place.”
Despite the slight slide, students on the University of Utah campus didn't seem too concerned about the newest rankings and were proud to tout their school.
“There’s so many opportunities here. There’s a lot of resources, clubs, and ways to get involved on campus,” said Utah junior Cheyenne Strongo.
“I love how many different little communities there are,” added junior Bianca Ravago.
Approximately 1,700 universities and colleges are ranked in the U.S. News list.
