Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Public · Urban campus · verified rankings · federal data

CUNY City College

Students comparing CUNY City College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
New York, New York12,505 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 33Public universityUrban campusResearch university

The short answer

CUNY City College: U.S. News ranks it #132 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #166 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #57 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #225 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #472 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); QS ranks it #1025 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 12,505 undergraduates, admits 60.0% of applicants, and posts a 56.8% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $15,290; aid recipients pay $3,776 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $66,039.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
60.0%

Below the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$3,776

89% below the $34,130 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$66,039

Above the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
56.8%

About the dataset median

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$11,990

Above the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
1070–1430

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where CUNY City ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Universities#132of 436National universities
Forbes2026America's Top Colleges#166of 500Top colleges (Forbes)
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#57of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.#225of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)B#472of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value Colleges4.5 starsListedBest value (Money)
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)ListedOverall (Niche)
QS2026World University Rankings#1025of 1,504World (QS)

Methodology sensitivity: CUNY City's position moves 64 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About CUNY City

CUNY City College is a public institution in New York, New York. Federal data show 79.3% first-year retention and a 14:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $3,776 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $34,130 sticker cost against $3,776 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing CUNY City College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

In-state tuition & fees
$7,340

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Out-of-state tuition & fees
$15,290

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$18,840

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $34,130 a year, but the average family pays $3,776 — a 89% difference. 60.5% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run CUNY City's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    14:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    79.3%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    12,505

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    CUNY City: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $15,290 and on-campus room and board is $18,840, for a published total of $34,130 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $3,776.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 60.0%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    Temple University

    Philadelphia, PAPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Temple University: U.S. News ranks it #102 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #232 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #389 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #196 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #183 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); QS ranks it #729 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 20,970 undergraduates, admits 80.4% of applicants, and posts a 75.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $38,958; aid recipients pay $28,198 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $63,727.

    Acceptance rate
    80.4%
    Average net price
    $28,198
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $63,727
    6-yr graduation rate
    75.0%
    US News · National universities#102 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#232 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#389 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    20,970 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 32 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Colorado State University-Fort Collins

    Fort Collins, COPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Colorado State University-Fort Collins: U.S. News ranks it #151 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #243 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #197 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #290 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #252 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 3.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026) — #25 Best Quality of Life; QS ranks it #458 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 25,538 undergraduates, admits 88.5% of applicants, and posts a 66.5% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $34,783; aid recipients pay $21,279 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $60,543.

    Acceptance rate
    88.5%
    Average net price
    $21,279
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $60,543
    6-yr graduation rate
    66.5%
    US News · National universities#151 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#243 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#197 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    25,538 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 32 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    University of Texas at Dallas

    Richardson, TXPublic

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    University of Texas at Dallas: U.S. News ranks it #110 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #141 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #582 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #319 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #219 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); QS ranks it #604 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 21,751 undergraduates, admits 65.1% of applicants, and posts a 75.7% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $40,144; aid recipients pay $18,267 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $68,227.

    Acceptance rate
    65.1%
    Average net price
    $18,267
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $68,227
    6-yr graduation rate
    75.7%
    US News · National universities#110 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#141 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#582 of 1,504+5 more on profile

    21,751 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 34 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare CUNY City against these