by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. College Factual has developed its Top Southwest Region Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 266 colleges and universities across the Southwest Region 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.
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 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center to be the best school for overall quality in the Southwest Region in this year’s ranking.
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 $92,348 during the early years of their career..
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas Medical Branch. It ranked #2 on our 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $92,961 during the early years of their career..
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The school came in at #3 in the Southwest Region on this year’s overall quality ranking.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. During the early years of their career, graduates from UTHealth make an average of $88,757 a year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The school came in at #4 in the Southwest Region on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from MD Anderson make an average of $90,232 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - College Station. The school came in at #5 in the Southwest Region on this year’s overall quality ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M College Station is $72,097 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #6, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. During the early years of their career, graduates from UT Austin make an average of $75,121 a year.
Rice University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Rice make an average of $89,718 a year.
With a ranking of #8, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 5 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 UT Health San Antonio is $82,206 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
With a ranking of #9, University of Oklahoma - Health Sciences Center did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UOHSC go into careers with an average salary of $63,126 during the early years of their career.
University of Phoenix - Arizona landed the #10 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
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 $37,752 during the early years of their career..
West Coast University - Dallas landed the #11 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 100%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from West Coast University - Dallas is $102,672 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #12, Arizona State University - Tempe did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from ASU - Tempe is $62,668 during the early years of their career.
University of Arizona did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #13.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Arizona make an average of $59,979 a year.
Texas Christian University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from TCU go into careers with an average salary of $68,424 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #15, GateWay Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from GateWay Community College go into careers with an average salary of $46,147 during the early years of their career.
Southern Methodist University landed the #16 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $78,354 during the early years of their career..
Grand Canyon University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $42,186 during the early years of their career..
Baylor University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Baylor make an average of $65,793 per year during the early years of their career.
Texas State Technical College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #19.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $38,916 during the early years of their career..
Texas Tech University landed the #20 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from Texas Tech make an average of $62,454 a year.
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from University of Oklahoma go into careers with an average salary of $63,126 during the early years of their career.
Eastern Arizona College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #22.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Arizona College is $38,018 during the early years of their career.
The University of Texas at Dallas landed the #23 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UT Dallas go into careers with an average salary of $68,227 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #24, Northern Arizona University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from NAU make an average of $54,384 per year during the early years of their career.
Tarrant County College District did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #25.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $42,727 during the early years of their career..
Not only did these schools make the top 40 list, but they also landed in the top 20% of this year’s ranking:
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These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Austin Community College District | Austin, TX |
| 42 | Chamberlain University - Texas | Houston, TX |
| 43 | Oklahoma City University | Oklahoma City, OK |
| 44 | Lone Star College System | The Woodlands, TX |
| 45 | Trinity University | San Antonio, TX |
| 46 | Northland Pioneer College | Holbrook, AZ |
| 47 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio, TX |
| 48 | Texas Woman’s University | Denton, TX |
| 49 | DeVry University - Texas | Irving, TX |
| 50 | University of New Mexico - Main Campus | Albuquerque, NM |
| 51 | Pima Community College | Tucson, AZ |
| 52 | Lamar Institute of Technology | Beaumont, TX |
| 53 | McLennan Community College | Waco, TX |
| 54 | American InterContinental University - Online | Chandler, AZ |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.