RANKED: Best colleges in the Capital Region for 2026

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — U.S. News & World Report released its 2026 Best Colleges rankings on Tuesday. U.S. News evaluated around 1,700 colleges and universities to determine the rankings.

The publication looked at 17 different factors including graduation rate, full-time faculty, student-faculty ratio, standardized tests, peer assessment, and more. U.S. News also created specialized rankings including “best value schools,” “most innovative colleges,” “top performers on social mobility.” and “top historically Black colleges and universities.”

For the national rankings, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University were ranked as the top three, in that order. Here’s where the Capital Region colleges landed in the rankings, according to U.S. News.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy landed 64th in the national rankings with an overall score of 72 out of 100. The college was also ranked 135th in Best Value Schools and 35th in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.

University at Albany landed 127th in the national rankings, according to U.S. News. The SUNY school also landed 63rd for Top Public Schools and 61st for Best Value Schools.

Russell Sage College in Albany and Troy landed at number 213 in the national rankings. The college was also ranked 36th for Best Value Schools and 340th for nursing.

Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs did not rank in the overall national rankings, but was ranked 37th in National Liberal Arts Colleges and 53rd in Best Value Schools. Union College in Schenectady also didn’t rank in the overall national rankings, but was ranked 44th in National Liberal Arts Colleges and 50th in Best Value Schools.

Siena University in Loudonville didn’t rank in the overall national rankings, but was ranked 16th in Regional Universities North and 19th in Best Value Schools.

In New York State, the top three colleges were Cornell University, Columbia University, and New York University. To view the full national and state college rankings for 2026, you can visit the U.S. News website.