UC Berkeley beats out Harvard in 2025 Forbes’ Top Colleges list

(KRON) — Forbes released its annual America’s Top Colleges list on Tuesday. Out of 500 institutions, two Bay Area schools ranked at the very top.

For the fifth straight year, both Stanford and UC Berkeley ranked in the top five of Forbes’ List of America’s Top Colleges. UC Berkeley even beat out Harvard.

Forbes: Top 10 America’s Top Colleges List (2025)

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. Columbia University
3. Princeton University
4. Stanford University
5. University of California, Berkeley
6. Harvard University
7. Williams College
8. Johns Hopkins University
9. Yale University
10. University of Pennsylvania

Stanford slightly dropped in the rankings from 2024, when it was ranked Forbes’ second-best college. Berkeley stayed put at No. 5 for the third straight year, dating back to 2023.

Other Bay Area institutions to make the 2025 list: Santa Clara (No. 65), San Jose State (No. 125), University of San Francisco (No. 172), San Francisco State (No. 186), Sonoma State (No. 221), Cal State East Bay (No. 308), Saint Mary’s College (No. 324), Menlo College (No. 405) and Dominican University (No. 411).

Forbes analyzed seven different factors to compile its list.

• Alumni Salary (20%)
• Debt (15%)
• Graduation Rate (15%)
• Forbes American Leaders List (15%)
• Return on Investment (15%)
• Retention Rate (10%)
• Academic Success (10%)

You can view Forbes’ full best colleges list here. More on Forbes’ methodology can be viewed here.