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5 Houston universities land on U.S. News' 2026 list of best colleges

Rice is the No. 1 university in Texas for 2026, U.S. News says.

Rice University

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

rice university us news & world report rankings college rankings university of houston colleges

GDP Growth

CEO magazine names Texas 'best state for business' for the 22nd year

Aerial view of skyline downtown Houston and highway traffic at buffalo bayou park, Houston, Texas, USA

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The Texas business sector recently received a double dose of good news.

For the 22nd consecutive year, Chief Executive magazine named Texas the best state for business. In tandem with that achievement, preliminary new estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show the size of Texas’ economy jumped to $2.9 trillion in 2025, up by a nation-leading growth rate of 2.5 percent compared with the previous year.

Speaking about the Chief Executive honor, Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas benefits from pro-growth policies, a strong workforce, strategic investments in education, training for high-demand skills and the presence of critical infrastructure.

“Texas is where businesses innovate and where opportunity abounds. … We will continue to move at the speed of business as we build a more prosperous Texas for generations to come,” the governor says.

An annual Chief Executive survey of CEOs, presidents and business owners determines which state is the best for business. Texas has landed at No. 1 every year since Chief Executive launched the ranking.

“Truly, this is an incredible run that Texas has going,” says Christopher Chalk, publisher of Chief Executive. “CEOs are a tough group to please, and yet year after year Texas continues to earn the top spot—no small feat.”

It’s also no small feat for a state to notch annual gains in its gross domestic product (GDP), a measurement of economic power based on the value of goods and services produced each year.

With an estimated GDP of $2.9 trillion last year, Texas maintains its position as the eighth-largest global economy compared with the nations of the world, based on preliminary estimates from the International Monetary Fund.

In reference to Texas’ GDP growth, Abbott says the Lone Star State is “the premier destination for job creators from across the country and world. We will keep attracting world-class investment, create jobs, and expand opportunity for Texans for generations to come.”

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This article first appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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