2025 College Rankings: Cal State San Bernardino named among nation’s best universities

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·3 min read
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California State University, State Bernardino was ranked among the nation’s best universities in social mobility and value, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The San Bernardino-based university was listed among the country’s top 100 public schools, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Colleges rankings.

California State University, State Bernardino was ranked among the nation’s best universities in social mobility and value, according to U.S. News & World Report.
California State University, State Bernardino was ranked among the nation’s best universities in social mobility and value, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The university was also listed No. 12 nationally in the Top Performers on Social Mobility category, which focuses on colleges that promote the advancement and graduation of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Institutions ranked high for social mobility “are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with (federal) Pell Grants,” U.S. News states.

Florida International University topped the listing, followed by the University of California, Riverside at No. 2.

Other California institutions ranked included:

  • No. 3: Cal State Long Beach

  • No. 4: UC Merced

  • No. 7: Cal State Fullerton

  • No. 8: University of La Verne

  • No. 9: UC Irvine

California-based schools listed after Cal State San Bernardino included

Shown is the campus of California State University, San Bernardino. State Senator Scott Wilk is working to bring a Cal. State University Campus to the High Desert.
Shown is the campus of California State University, San Bernardino. State Senator Scott Wilk is working to bring a Cal. State University Campus to the High Desert.

  • No. 2: UC Santa Barbara

  • No. 22: UC Santa Cruz

  • No. 26: UC Davis

  • No.28: San Francisco State, UCLA and the University of San Diego (Tied)

  • No. 31: Fresno State

Best value universities

In its Best Value-National Universities listing, Cal State San Bernardino was ranked No. 48, making it the highest-ranked California public university.

U.S. News said that this category was based on calculations that take into account “a school's academic quality, as indicated by its 2025 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the 2023-2024 net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student who received the average level of need-based financial aid."

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Princeton University was at the top of this list at No. 1, and the California Institute of Technology was the only California school to make the top 10.

University of the Pacific, like CalTech, a private institution, was listed at No. 44. Listed after Cal State San Bernardino were the University of San Diego, No. 53; the University of Southern California, No. 65; Pepperdine University at No. 74; and the University of San Francisco, No. 88, rounding out the top 100.

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Top Public Schools

CSUSB was included in the ranking service’s Top Public Schools, listed at No. 92. UCLA was the top public university on this list; Cal State Long Beach and San Diego State, tied at No. 52, were the highest-ranked California State University campuses.

The rankings are determined by several factors, including:

  • Graduation and retention rates

  • Social mobility

  • Graduation rate performance

  • Undergraduate academic reputation

  • Faculty resources

  • Student selectivity

  • Financial resources for students

  • The average alumni giving rate

  • Graduate indebtedness

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the school’s Office of Strategic Communication at 909-537-5007 or visit csusb.edu/inside.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: U.S. News ranks Cal State San Bernardino among nation’s best