Head of the class

UT Austin ranks among Texas' 10 best universities for 2027

UT Austin ranked third among Texas universities.

With early application season in full swing, two local universities are racking up new accolades on a new list of the 10 best Texas colleges for 2027.

The University of Texas at Austin ranked as the No. 3 best Texas university in WalletHub's annual "College & University Rankings" report, showing Austin students don't have to travel out of state to earn a top-notch degree.

Across town, Southwestern University in Georgetown ranked 5th statewide.

WalletHub analyzed 738 colleges and universities in the U.S. using 30 relevant metrics, including factors like student-faculty ratios, graduation rates, and many more. Universities were ranked nationally, regionally, and across seven key dimensions: student selectivity; cost and financing; faculty resources; campus safety; campus experience; educational outcomes; and career outcomes.

Rice University in Houston claimed the top spot as Texas' No. 1 university for 2027. The Southern Ivy also ranked No. 11 nationwide.

In addition to its high statewide rating and its top rank among local schools, UT Austin ranked 14th in the regional comparison of best universities in the South, and appeared 63rd nationally. Across the seven main categories, the university performed best for its education outcomes (No. 56) and student selectivity (No. 73).

UT ranked outside the top 100 in the national categories for career outcomes (No. 126), campus safety (No. 186), cost and financing (No. 355), campus experience (No. 507), and faculty resources (No. 644).

Meanwhile, Southwestern University ranked 32nd regionally and 168th nationally. Southwestern's student selectivity ranks among the top 150 nationally, landing 142nd, and it ranked just outside the top 250 for its faculty resources (No. 249) and education outcomes (No. 268).

This is how the report ranked Southwestern in the four remaining categories out of all 738 schools:

No. 316 – Campus safety
No. 373 – Career outcomes
No. 497 – Campus experience
No. 521 – Cost and financing

Elsewhere in the Austin area, two more local schools appeared among WalletHubs' best universities in the South: St. Edward's University (No. 129) and Huston-Tillotson University (No. 173).

These universities, including their graduate programs, have earned heaps of national and worldwide praise this year from prestigious educational reviewing authorities U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and Niche.

These are WalletHub's top 10 best colleges and universities in Texas for 2027:

No. 1 – Rice University
No. 2 – Trinity University
No. 3 – The University of Texas at Austin
No. 4 – Texas A&M University-College Station
No. 5 – Southwestern University
No. 6 – University of Dallas
No. 7 – Austin College
No. 8 – Texas Christian University
No. 9 – LeTourneau University
No. 10 – The University of Texas at Dallas

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women innovators

Austin declared one of the top 10 hotspots for women in tech

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Austin is the No. 6 best city for women in tech.

Austin and six more Texas cities are soaring among the best places in the U.S. for women in tech, a new report says.

The Texas capital city ranked No. 6 nationwide in SmartAsset's new report, "Best and Worst Cities for Women in Tech — 2026 Study," which compared the 50 biggest U.S. cities across four metrics:

Gender pay gap — women's median earnings as a percentage of men’s median earnings in tech
The share of all tech workers that are women
The overall concentration of employment for tech workers, defined as "tech workers as a share of the local workforce"
Women tech workers’ median earnings, adjusted for regional price parity

For the purpose of the study, tech workers are defined as "city residents employed in computer and mathematical occupations."

The study's findings show that more than 12,000 tech workers in Austin are women, or nearly 23 percent of the total tech workforce in the city. Surprisingly, tech workers in general make up less than 9 percent of the total Austin workforce.

However, women tech workers in Austin have a sizeable gap to cross to receive equal pay compared to their male counterparts in the same industry. Women tech workers make about $99,500 in median earnings after adjusting for regional price parity, which is only 80 percent of what male tech workers make, SmartAsset found.

There are only two U.S. cities where women in tech earn more than what their male counterparts: Miami and Memphis, Tennessee. Women tech workers in Miami make an adjusted $88,650 in median earnings, or 101.7 percent of what men in tech make. In Memphis, women make $84,718 in adjusted earnings, or 101.5 percent of what men in tech earn.

The findings also assert that women remain underrepresented in the nation's overall tech sector, despite making up nearly half of the total workforce. Only 22.6 percent of the U.S.'s tech labor force is made up of women, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"Opportunities for women in tech can vary considerably by location, and these differences shape access to jobs, career advancement and earning potential," the report's author wrote. "In some places, women account for a larger share of tech workers, face narrower pay gaps and enjoy a stronger local labor market. In others, they may encounter a more challenging career environment."

The six other Texas cities that earned spots in the report are Houston (No. 15), Fort Worth (No. 26), Dallas (No. 32), Arlington (No. 38), San Antonio (No. 42), and El Paso (No. 49).

The top 10 best U.S. cities for women in tech are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Seattle, Washington
No. 3 – San Francisco, California
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – Baltimore, Maryland
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – Oakland, California
No. 8 – Portland, Oregon
No. 9 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 10 – Minneapolis, Minnesota

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