The University of Texas at Austin and Georgetown’s Southwestern University are maintaining their shining reputations among the top colleges in the U.S., according to a new batch of rankings from WalletHub.
WalletHub ranked The University of Texas at Austin as the No. 2 best university in Texas for 2026, and the 11th best university in the South. UT also ranked as the 58th best university in the country, a five spot drop from its 2024 ranking.
The personal finance website’s experts analyzed nearly 800 colleges and universities in the U.S. using 30 key metrics, including factors like student-faculty ratios, graduation rates, campus safety, and many more.
UT Austin was sandwiched between two prestigious private institutions in WalletHub’s statewide ranking: Houston’s Rice University (No. 1) and Trinity University in San Antonio (No. 3). Rice also ranked as the 9th best university in the U.S. for 2026, while Trinity ranked No. 62 nationally, four spots behind UT.
UT was ranked across seven major categories in the report, and scored highly for its student educational outcomes (No. 63) and student selectivity (No. 74). The university earned fair rankings for its student career outcomes (No. 118) and campus safety (No. 187), but lagged behind for its cost and financing (No. 337), campus experience (No. 552), and faculty resources (No. 629).
U.S. News & World Report says tuition and fees at UT can add up to more than $11,000 per year for in-state students, with the total cost adding up to more than $32,000 when factoring in the price for housing, food, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses.
Other Austin-area universities
Southwestern University ranked as the 7th best Texas university for 2026, the 36th best university in the South, and No. 117 nationally.
Here’s how Southwestern University performed across the seven major categories in the report:
No. 133 – Student selectivityNo. 157 – Faculty resourcesNo. 275 – Educational outcomesNo. 371 – Career outcomesNo. 381 – Campus safetyNo. 412 – Campus experienceNo. 627 – Cost and financingThe private university likely performed poorly in the cost and financing category due to its high tuition rates, which add up to nearly $57,000 per year. U.S. News says that’s far more expensive than the $50,018 national average cost of tuition. However, costs for attending Southwestern add up to nearly $73,000 after housing, food, textbooks, school supplies, and more.
Other Austin-area universities that landed on WalletHub’s regional list of the best colleges in the South include St. Edward’s University (No. 157), and Texas State University in San Marcos (No. 173).
The 10 best colleges and universities in Texas for 2026 are:
No. 1 – Rice University, HoustonNo. 2 – The University of Texas at AustinNo. 3 – Trinity University, San AntonioNo. 4 – Texas A&M University-College StationNo. 5 – Texas Christian University, Fort WorthNo. 6 – Austin College, ShermanNo. 7 – Southwestern University, GeorgetownNo. 8 – University of DallasNo. 9 – The University of Texas at DallasNo. 10 – University of Houston