The Wall Street Journal’s America’s Best Colleges 2026 Rankings have been released, and Pace University has once again earned national recognition for delivering value, student success, and diversity.
For 2026, Pace ranked #242 out of 584 colleges, moving up 15 spots from last year. This improvement reflects the continued strength of Pace’s programs and our commitment to preparing students for careers and meaningful lives.
Pace ranked ahead of a number of respected universities, including New York University, the University of Miami, Hofstra University, and the City University of New York. This placement highlights Pace’s ability to deliver high-quality outcomes and opportunities to students at a competitive value.
Pace was also one of just four universities nationwide—including Stanford—to achieve a perfect diversity score of 100. This measure takes into account the ethnic diversity of students and faculty as well as the inclusion of students from lower-income families and those with disabilities.
This recognition underscores Pace’s long-standing mission of providing access and opportunity to students from all backgrounds, and it affirms the value of the diverse, inclusive community we continue to build.
The WSJ rankings place the greatest emphasis on student outcomes, such as graduation rates, post-graduate salaries, and the speed with which a college education pays for itself. Additional factors include student and alumni surveys and diversity.
Pace’s strong results across these measures show that our students are well-prepared to achieve professional success while benefiting from an inclusive and supportive educational environment.
As national conversations continue about the value of higher education, these rankings highlight Pace as an institution that delivers measurable results: a cost-effective education that leads to real opportunities, strong career outcomes, and social mobility.
Explore Pace University’s other awards and rankings.
More Pace students than ever—34 across both campuses—have been named UN Millennium Fellows, tackling the world’s biggest challenges through local action and global collaboration. From clean water to climate change, these Go-Getters are making their mark.
Pace University has been awarded more than $3 million from the New York State Department of Health’s Healthcare Education and Life-skills Program (HELP) to establish the College of Health Professions Pathways to Practice Initiative (CPPI.
Driven by her own story of resilience, Ipshita Ray, PhD, is leading Lubin’s new Center for Leadership and Emotional Intelligence in collaboration with Harvard’s Leadership and Happiness Laboratory. Learn how this new program is helping equip the next generation of leaders through the science of happiness.