Cal State Long Beach ranked No. 1 among ‘national universities’ for promoting social mobility

Cal State Long Beach is ranked No. 1 among “national universities” for promoting social mobility, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Colleges rankings released today.

The social mobility rankings, which are part of U.S. News’ outcomes measures, assess graduation rates and performance of Pell Grant-awarded students and, for national universities like CSULB, first-generation student graduation rates and performance.

Of the more than 32,700 enrolled undergraduate Beach students in Fall 2022, over 56% were eligible for Pell Grants.

“This distinction points to the life-changing power of a Beach education, especially for an institution where more than half of our undergraduates are first-generation students,” said President Jane Close Conoley. “As we continue to maximize opportunity for all students, we take great pride in the success of our alumni and their ability to positively impact their communities.” 

CSULB has a proven track record of advancing socioeconomic opportunity for all students, as seen by consistent top 5 showings in rankings that measure social mobility impact. Last year, The Beach was ranked No. 4 in the nation by CollegeNET’s social mobility index.

Earlier this year, The Beach was recognized among the top 50 “national universities” by Washington Monthly, and one of the "Best Colleges in America,” according to Money.