Long Beach State ranks as one of nation's "Best Value" Colleges

Long Beach State is once again ranked among the best in the nation for a student’s return on investment, placing No. 37 on Forbes’ “America’s Best Value Colleges 2019” survey.

The campus jumped 16 spots on the annual national ranking, rating No. 53 in 2018. Long Beach State is regularly listed among the best universities in rankings that include those compiled by U.S. News & World Report, Money magazine and the Social Mobility Index.

Long Beach State was one of three California State University campuses in the top 40 (San Diego State University is No. 30 and San Jose State University is No. 40). Other California schools in the upper ranks include seven University of California campuses and three private institutions.

 “It is gratifying to be included among this group of prestigious universities,” President Jane Close Conoley said. “This ranking, along with the others we have received, affirms that we are going in the right direction. It also reflects what faculty and alumni often share with me: namely, Long Beach State students gain a high-quality, meaningful education while earning their degrees.”

According to Forbes, the rankings focus on highlighting schools with “the highest quality and best financial outcomes” using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and PayScale.

Its list of the 300 Best Value Colleges was created by amassing and comparing data on 645 colleges and universities across all 50 states. Forbes scored them in the following six areas: quality; net price; net debt; alumni earnings; timely graduation; and access for low-income students.