Ohio State, Miami tops UC on U.S. News & World Report’s best colleges in Ohio list

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U.S. News & World Report released its Best Colleges of 2025 rankings on Tuesday, and several Greater Cincinnati institutions including the University of Cincinnati, Miami University and Xavier University made its list of the best colleges in Ohio.

Miami University’s Oxford campus ranked third for best colleges in Ohio, behind Case Western Reserve University and above the University of Dayton, which took the No. 4 spot. Miami also ranked No. 136 on the best national universities list.

Ohio State University ranked No. 1 overall in Ohio and No. 41 nationally.

The University of Cincinnati ranked No. 5 for best colleges in the state. The Bearcats also ranked No. 152 among the best national universities. Xavier University ranked No. 7 for best colleges in Ohio.

Mount St. Joseph University was at No. 12.

To determine its ranking, the U.S. News & World Report evaluated nearly 1,500 four-year bachelor’s degree-granting colleges in the U.S. across 17 factors including graduation rates, first-year retention rates, student-to-faculty ratio, peer assessment and more.

Continue below to see the 20 top-ranked colleges in Ohio.

Top 20 Best Colleges in Ohio 2025

1. Ohio State University.
2. Case Western Reserve University.
3. Miami University-Oxford.
4. University of Dayton.
5. University of Cincinnati.
6. Ohio University.
7. Xavier University.
8. Kent State University.
9. Bowling Green State University.
10. University of Toledo.
11. Cleveland State University.
12. Mount St. Joseph University.
13. Walsh University.
14. University of Findlay.
15. University of Akron.
16. Denison University.
17. Kenyon College.
18. Oberlin College and Conservatory.
19. College of Wooster.
20. Ohio Wesleyan University.