This California college is best in the West, new study says. Where did your alma mater rank?

A California university is the best in the West, according to WalletHub.

The personal finance company recently released its list of the Best Colleges and Universities for 2025, comparing more than 800 higher education institutions in the United States based on costs, campus safety, career outcomes and other factors.

“A college degree can set you up for success and boost your future earnings, but attending college can be extremely expensive,” WalletHub financial writer Adam McCann wrote on Oct. 14. “On average, tuition and room and board at a four-year college costs $28,000 to $60,000 per year.”

That’s why WalletHub set out to determine “the top-performing schools at the lowest possible costs to undergraduates.”

Princeton University in New Jersey was the No. 1 university in the nation, according to the site, followed by Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in second place. Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, came in third.

California Institute of Technology in Pasadena was the highest ranking California college, landing in the top 10.

Here’s where it ranked, and why.

Why is California Institute of Technology one of best colleges in US?

California Institute of Technology was No. 7 on WalletHub’s list of the best colleges and universities in the United States, receiving a total score of 77.18 points out of 100.

The private science and engineering university was the No. 1 school in the West, the WalletHub study found, beating out Stanford University and Claremont McKenna College in regional rankings.

Caltech was the top university in the nation in terms of student selectivity due to its low admission rate, WalletHub said. It has an admission rate of 3%, according to ranking website Niche.

Caltech ranked exceptionally high in terms of faculty resources — the school has a student-faculty ratio of three-to-one, Niche said — and career outcomes, according to WalletHub.

According to Niche, 89% of Caltech students find employment within two years after graduating, and alumni make an median income of $85,900 per year six years after graduation.

According to WalletHub, Caltech was No. 27 in the nation for education outcomes and No. 38 for campus experience.

However, the university landed toward the bottom on WalletHub’s list in terms of campus safety and cost and financing.

On average, Caltech students pay $20,755 per year after financial aid, Niche said, compared to the national average of $15,523.

In a Niche review of Caltech , a student gave the university four stars, describing it as an “amazing school full of people who are at the top of their field and passionate about sharing their knowledge with the students.”

Where did other California schools rank?

Only one other California university ranked among the top 20 colleges and universities in the nation, according to WalletHub.

Stanford University was No. 13 overall, scoring 75.25 out of 100.

Claremont McKenna College was No. 22, while UCLA was No. 28, Harvey Mudd College was No. 29 and Ponoma College was No. 30.

Farther down the list, Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo was No. 72 and UC Davis was No. 102.

Fresno State University and Sacramento State University did not score spots on WalletHub’s 500-school list.

What are the top 10 universities in the nation?

These are the top 10 colleges and universities in the United States, according to the study by WalletHub:

1. Princeton University
2. Yale University
3. Harvard University
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5. Dartmouth College
6. Rice University
7. California Institute of Technology
8. Carnegie Mellon University
9. Northwestern University
10. John Hopkins University

How did WalletHub come up with it’s ranking?

To come up with its rankings, WalletHub compared 822 colleges and universities across seven key dimensions:

• Student selectivity
• Cost and financing
• Faculty resources
• Campus safety
• Campus experience
• Educational outcomes
• Career outcomes

The site then evaluated those categories using a total of 30 metrics.

Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing “the best school performance and the most favorable conditions for undergraduate students during and after attendance,” WalletHub said.

WalletHub then calculated the overall score for each college to complete its list