Several North Carolina universities have reason to celebrate, thanks to the release of one of the year’s most anticipated college rankings lists.
U.S. News & World Report released its annual “Best College” rankings on Tuesday. Most colleges across the state moved up in the national rankings — some far more than others.
For instance, North Carolina A&T State University (tied for No. 231) and Winston-Salem State University (tied for No. 220) were highlighted in a U.S. News press release for moving up 49 and 40 spots in the rankings, respectively. That means NC A&T tied as the second-most improved school this year, while Winston-Salem State tied for the fifth-most improved, according to the release.
Duke University, the highest-ranked college in North Carolina, moved up one place nationally to tie for the No. 6 spot among hundreds of colleges across the country.
The results were mixed for UNC-Chapel Hill, which moved down five spots to tie for No. 27 in the overall rankings, and also moved down one spot in the public university-specific rankings to No. 5. But UNC remains the top public university nationwide in U.S. News’ “best value” list, a title the university has held for 20 years.
U.S. News describes itself as “the global authority in education rankings,” but its rankings come with controversy. Critics have pointed to the factors and criteria used to calculate the rankings, including a “peer assessment,” or “a measure of how a school is regarded by top administrators at other institutions,” which makes up 20% of a school’s score.
U.S. News underwent a major methodological change for its rankings last year, giving greater emphasis in its calculations to student success, outcomes and debt levels, among other factors. More than 50% of a university’s score is now based on the school’s “success in enrolling and graduating students from all backgrounds with manageable debt as well as earnings of post graduates,” according to a news release.
Curious about how North Carolina colleges stacked up in the 2025 report? Here’s a look at the overall rankings, plus rankings for value and public university-specific rankings where applicable.
Duke University
UNC-Chapel Hill
Wake Forest University
NC State University
Elon University
UNC Charlotte
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Ranked No. 152 nationally
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Ranked No. 81 for public universities
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Ranked No. 157 for best value
East Carolina University
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Ranked No. 189 nationally
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Ranked No. 103 for public universities
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Ranked No. 178 for best value
UNC Greensboro
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Ranked No. 196 nationally
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Ranked No. 107 for public universities
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Ranked No. 202 for best value
UNC Wilmington
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Ranked No. 196 nationally
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Ranked No. 107 for public universities
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Ranked No. 204 for best value
Western Carolina University
Winston-Salem State University
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Ranked No. 220 nationally
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Ranked No. 119 for public universities
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Ranked No. 12 for historically Black colleges and universities
NC A&T University
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Ranked No. 231 nationally
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Ranked No. 126 for public universities
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Ranked No. 8 for historically Black colleges and universities
Regional university rankings
In addition to national rankings, U.S. News also ranks regional universities. Regional universities in North Carolina received the following overall rankings in the South:
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Appalachian State University: No. 3
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Queens University of Charlotte: No. 17
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North Carolina Central University: No. 34
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UNC Pembroke: No. 41
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Lenoir-Rhyne University: No. 51
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Fayetteville State University: No. 62
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University of Mount Olive: No. 82
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Pfeiffer University: No. 92
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Methodist University: No. 97
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Greensboro College: No. 101
More rankings
You can see the rankings for all North Carolina colleges and universities at usnews.com/best-colleges/nc.
