Cal State LA earns five-star rating in Money.com's Best Colleges in America rankings

LOS ANGELES - EntSun -- Money.com has once again honored Cal State LA as one of the "Best Colleges in America."

The publication's 2026 rankings gave Cal State LA a five-star rating, one of only 42 colleges across the country to receive the top-scale designation.

Money.com points to Cal State LA students' 66% graduation rate but said "where Cal State LA really stands out is helping students from low-income families climb up the socioeconomic ladder."

In 2022, Opportunity Insights at Harvard University listed Cal State LA as the top university in the nation for upward mobility, a measurement of how effectively colleges enroll economically disadvantaged students and graduate them into well-paying careers. Two years later, the California Mobility Index's inaugural rankings of the state's colleges also placed Cal State LA in the No. 1 position.

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Money.com's list evaluated more than 700 colleges based on value, including tuition fees, graduation rates, how much debt students incur, and graduates' earnings after college. It considered 25 data points, with the affordability measures being the most important.

The diverse list of five-star colleges included five additional California State University campuses, four from the University of California system, eight Ivy Leagues, private research universities, liberal arts colleges, and other public institutions.

Money.com also listed Cal State LA among the Best Public Colleges, Best Colleges in the West, and Best Colleges with High Acceptance Rates.

Read full release: https://news.calstatela.edu/2026/07/01/cal-state-la-earns-five-star-rating-in-money-coms-best-colleges-in-america-rankings/