These are the best colleges in West Virginia for 2026: report

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Niche has released its ranking of top colleges for 2026, and two universities in West Virginia received top scores.

The ranking is released every year to help to “help students identify institutions that best match their academic goals, personal values, budgets, and campus preferences.”

According to the report, the top college in West Virginia is the University of Charleston, a smaller private school in West Virginia’s capital city. UC scored an overall A- with particularly high scores for diversity, dorms and safety. Its lowest score was in the party scene category. Overall, UC was ranked 202nd best college in America.

In second place was West Virginia University, the largest public school in the state. WVU also received an overall A- and received an A+ in the party scene category and As for student life and professors. Its lowest category score was a C+ for safety, according to Niche. On the national scale, WVU ranked 238th in America overall; it also ranked 11th for top party schools and 13th for best Greek life colleges.

In third place, Marshall University received an overall B+ score, scoring highly for athletics, campus and campus food. Marshall ranked 318th in the country.

4. American Public University System (online) – 395th overall
5. Fairmont State University – 715th overall
6. West Liberty University
7. West Virginia University at Parkersburg
8. Blue Ridge Community & Technical College
9. Concord University
10. Shepherd University

You can check out the full rankings for West Virginia here. A list of the top ranked colleges in the country is available here.