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3 Austin-area universities excel on 2026 list of best U.S. colleges

UT Austin is in the spotlight again.

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Three top-tier universities around Austin were just inducted into a new "hall of fame" list of the best colleges in the U.S. for 2026.

The University of Texas at Austin, Southwestern University in Georgetown, and Texas State University in San Marcos were all praised in education services company The Princeton Review's "The Best 391 Colleges: 2026 Edition."

Released August 12, the comprehensive guide annually ranks the best universities across 50 categories based on a survey of 170,000 current college students. Survey questions covered topics such as a school's academics and administration, student quality of life, politics, campus life, city/town life, extracurricular opportunities, and social environment.

The Princeton Review did not numerically rank the schools overall, but it does report the top 25 schools (out of the total 391) for each of the 50 different categories. The report also clarifies that while schools did not pay to be included in the guide, they could pay for a "featured" designation. Of the three Austin-area schools included in the list, the only one that paid to be "featured" was Southwestern University.

The University of Texas at Austin appeared in the overall 391 best colleges list, and it also appeared in the regional "Best Southwest" list, the "Best Value Colleges" list, the "Colleges That Create Futures" list, and the "Green Colleges" list. According to the school's profile, students feel like they are in an environment where they are provided "an infinite number of possibilities."

"With over 40,000 undergrads on campus, UT Austin is 'a huge school and has a lot to offer,' including 'experts in every field you can imagine' — to be precise, more than 3,000 faculty and 156 degree programs," the school's profile says.

UT Austin students can brag about attending a school with the second-best undergraduate entrepreneurship program, and the ninth-best public institution for internship placements. The university's alumni association, the Texas Exes, are also the third-best public alumni network in the country.

Here's how UT Austin fared in other Princeton Review rankings:

No. 2 – Top Southwest Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies
No. 14 – Top 50 Best Value Public Colleges
No. 17 – Top 20 Best Career Placement (Public Schools)
No. 18 – Top 20 Best Value Colleges without Financial Aid
No. 19 – College City Gets High Marks
No. 20 – Best Health Services
No. 20 – Lots of Greek Life
No. 25 – Happiest Students

UT Austin has also earned praise in a separate U.S. News & World Report ranking of the best grad schools in Texas.

Southwestern University also appeared in The Princeton Review's "Best Value Colleges," "Best Southwest," and "Green Colleges" lists. Students at this private Georgetown institution also benefit from having great professors, top-notch campus services, and more.

"Founded in 1840 as the first institution of higher education in Texas, Southwestern University offers a welcoming living and learning environment that will broaden your perspective and open doors to new opportunities," the school's profile says. "You'll engage in dynamic classroom discussions, real-world learning experiences, and cocurricular activities that empower you to think creatively and critically, communicate and collaborate effectively — and ultimately have the impact you want to have on the world."

Here's how Southwestern University performed in other rankings:

No. 12 – Professors Get High Marks
No. 19 – Best Career Services
No. 24 – Everyone Plays Intramural Sports
No. 50 – Top 50 Green Colleges

In addition to being named in the overall 391 best colleges, Texas State University in San Marcos appeared in The Princeton Review's "Best Southwest" and "Green Colleges" lists. Among the school's accolades include its "strong STEM program," and its caring staff of professors.

"I can't emphasize how much I love my professors and coursework," one student wrote in Texas State's profile. "Honestly, school has felt like a hobby these past years that I have thoroughly enjoyed."

Texas State earned less-than-stellar rankings for having the 25th "least politically active students" and it ranked No. 20 in The Princeton Review's list of schools where "financial aid [is] not so great."

Other Texas universities that were included in The Princeton Review's guide are:

Trinity University in San Antonio
Texas A&M University in College Station
University of Houston
Rice University in Houston
Angelo State University in San Angelo
Baylor University in Waco
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth
Southern Methodist University in Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson
University of Dallas in Irving
Austin College in Sherman

universities colleges rankings innovation texas state university san marcos austin university of texas at austin georgetown southwestern university

Jobs report

Texas ranks among top 10 states to find a job, new report says

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

You have a better chance of landing a job in Texas than in most other states.

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

While Abbott proclaimed Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

Austin — 3.9 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
San Antonio — 4.4 percent
Houston — 5 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.

This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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