Cal State Fullerton is featured in the Top 100 of Forbes’ 2025 America’s Top Colleges list. Forbes ranked CSUF as No. 20 in the West, No. 39 among public colleges, and No. 74 among research universities on the list.
At No. 100 overall, CSUF is among 500 schools in the country that offer the best educational, financial and career outcomes for students of all economic backgrounds. CSUF also is listed on Forbes’ list of 38 Great Colleges With Less Admissions Stress.
To select its annual Top 500 list, Forbes’ ranks U.S. colleges and universities by such measures as alumni salary, typical debt load for students, graduation rate, return on investment, retention rate and academic success.
The list is notable because Forbes also considers the Forbes American Leaders List in its rankings. The leaders list measures how many schools produced listmakers on the most recent Forbes 30 Under 30, Forbes 400, Richest Self-Made Women and Most Powerful Women lists.
CSUF also earned spots in the Top 100 of Forbes’ 2023 and 2022 Top Colleges lists.