by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Top New York Colleges ranking is part of that endeavor.
We analyzed 136 colleges and universities across New York to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking is based on over 20 objective factors, including post graduate earnings, freshman retention, and graduation rate. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Cornell University to be the best school for overall quality in New York in this year’s ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $104,043 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Columbia University in the City of New York helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in New York.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 84%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Columbia make an average of $102,491 per year during the early years of their career.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in New York list means New York University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from NYU is $82,509 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fashion Institute of Technology. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from FIT SUNY make an average of $62,696 a year.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in New York list means Syracuse University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse make an average of $79,164 per year during the early years of their career.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in New York list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from RPI make an average of $102,051 per year during the early years of their career.
Fordham University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges in New York list.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 79%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Fordham U go into careers with an average salary of $85,569 during the early years of their career.
University of Rochester did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in New York ranking, coming in at #8.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Rochester make an average of $79,042 a year.
With a ranking of #9, Barnard College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 85%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Barnard make an average of $80,516 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #10, Molloy College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Molloy is $77,789 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Colgate University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Colgate is $85,139 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #12, Hamilton College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton make an average of $78,411 per year during the early years of their career.
Rochester Institute of Technology ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges in New York list.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from RIT make an average of $76,571 per year during the early years of their career.
Stony Brook University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in New York ranking, coming in at #14.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Stony Brook make an average of $74,502 per year during the early years of their career.
Binghamton University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in New York ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University is $80,596 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #16, SUNY Westchester Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $46,822 during the early years of their career..
John Jay College of Criminal Justice landed the #17 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from John Jay go into careers with an average salary of $56,195 during the early years of their career.
University at Buffalo did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in New York ranking, coming in at #18.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from University at Buffalo is $70,814 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #19, Marist College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 77%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Marist make an average of $77,819 a year.
Adelphi University landed the #20 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Adelphi go into careers with an average salary of $75,482 during the early years of their career.
Wagner College ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in New York list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Wagner go into careers with an average salary of $74,360 during the early years of their career.
The New School ranked #22 on this year’s Best Colleges in New York list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from New School University is $52,901 during the early years of their career.
Ithaca College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in New York ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca is $63,548 during the early years of their career.
LIU Post ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges in New York list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from LIU Post is $59,950 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #25, SUNY Cortland did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in New York list.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $60,236 during the early years of their career..
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These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Baruch College | New York, NY |
| 27 | University at Albany | Albany, NY |
| 28 | Hofstra University | Hempstead, NY |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.