image: In addition to this ranking, Binghamton University was also named within the top 50 best public universities in the nation and in the top 100 best universities overall.
Credit: Jonathan Cohen
Binghamton University has been named one of the nation’s best universities and best values in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings, recognized for its strong academic quality and affordability.
The newly released list by U.S. News & World Report places Binghamton University as the #35 best college in the nation for value, up three spots from the 2025 list, and well above the 2024 list, when Binghamton was ranked #85 in that category.
Looking at public universities specifically, Binghamton was ranked the #3 best value institution in the nation and the #1 best value in New York.
In addition to this ranking, Binghamton University was also named the #34 best public university in the nation and #73 best overall university.
“This recognition as a best value university reaffirms our commitment to offering world-class education at an affordable cost,” said Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger. “We’re proud to offer students a high-quality academic experience that prepares them for success in their careers – without the burden of excessive debt.”
Several specific programs at Binghamton also saw sizable leaps in the annual list. The undergraduate engineering doctorate program rose from #98 to #86 this year. The undergraduate nursing program joined the top 100 at #9 after finishing #114 last year. Undergraduate computer sciences also crept up nine spots from last year to make #117 in the nation.
U.S. News also placed Binghamton in impressive positions for schools that are best for veterans (#43), psychology (#85), social mobility (#98), business (#109) and economics (#121).
“Binghamton University time and time again is listed among the best universities in the nation,” said Binghamton University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Hall. “It’s not only a powerful reminder of the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and students, but it reinforces our commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and student success.”
U.S. News evaluates universities based on 17 measures of academic quality. These include graduation and retention rates, student selectivity, financial resources allocated per student, class sizes, and the proportion of faculty holding terminal degrees in their disciplines. Additional considerations include student-to-faculty ratio, average federal loan debt among graduates, and assessments from academic years.
Binghamton was also recently named to Forbes’ Top Public Colleges list and was featured in New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Selingo’s book Dream Schools.
Visit our accolades page for more ranking info.