Five Houston universities have been named among U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of best universities in the nation for 2026, with Rice University landing on top in Texas.

U.S. News' prestigious Best Colleges rankings annually compare nearly 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities using 17 metrics that measure "academic quality." Schools are ranked nationally, regionally, and by specialty.

Houston's "Harvard of the South" continues to reign as Texas' No. 1 university, and it reclaimed the No. 17 spot nationally after previously slipping into No. 18 last year. Rice is joined in Texas' top 10 by University of Houston and University of St. Thomas, Houston.

Rice has a competitive 8 percent acceptance rate, and students pay $60,709 yearly for tuition and fees, according to the school's profile.

This has proven to be a great year for the Rice Owls. The university's exceptional graduate business and entrepreneurship programs constantly land atop U.S. News' separate rankings of best grad schools, and its alumni reportedly experience notable long-term career success.

Forbes named Rice among its top universities for 2025, and the school also earned acclaim on The Princeton Review's "hall of fame" list of the best U.S. colleges for 2026.

Other top Houston schools
The University of Houston ranked as the 8th best Texas university for another consecutive year, and it tied for No. 132 in the national rankings after falling into No. 144 last year. Separately, the University of Houston, Clear Lake also appeared in the rankings, appearing at No. 318 nationally for 2026.

In-state tuition and fees add up to $11,882 a year for UH students, U.S. News says, and the public university boasts a 70 percent acceptance rate. Students benefit from having a 21:1 student-faculty ratio, and 34 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students.

This public university is also having a successful year: In July, UH archaeologists discovered a 1,700-year-old Mayan tomb, and earlier in September two UH science projects became finalists in a competition to win part of a $50 million research grant.

Elsewhere in Houston, the University of St. Thomas ranked as the 10th best university in Texas and tied for No. 198 nationwide, and Prairie View A&M University tied as No. 343 nationally for 2026.

U.S. News' top 10 best colleges in Texas for 2026 are:

• No. 1 – Rice University, Houston
• No. 2 – University of Texas at Austin
• No. 3 – Texas A&M University, College Station
• No. 4 – Baylor University, Waco
• No. 5 – Southern Methodist University, Dallas
• No. 6 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
• No. 7 – The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
• No. 8 – University of Houston
• No. 9 – Texas Tech University, Lubbock
• No. 10 – University of St. Thomas, Houston