WalletHub, the popular personal finance company, has honored Southwestern University as the only institution in the state of Texas to appear on their 2026 Best Colleges Rankings. In their ranking of primarily undergraduate institutions, SU also checked in at #6 in the south, and #41 in the nation.

The 2026 Best Colleges Rankings highlight institutions that provide class, campus, and enrollment sizes that are relatively smaller and more preferable for students who seek a more intimate social setting and more focused attention from instructors. WalletHub ranked these schools using more than 30 key metrics to determine where prospective students can expect to receive a top-notch education at an affordable price.

“The top colleges in the U.S. provide small class sizes and have one faculty member for every seven to nine students, which creates a very personalized education experience,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. “The best colleges also offer very safe campuses and have plenty of opportunities for enrichment through things like NCAA athletics or study abroad programs. Graduates from the top schools get significant salary bumps compared to the general population, with the median salary ten years after enrolling around $80,000 or more.”

Metrics used in the rankings are grouped into seven categories: student selectivity, cost and financing, faculty resources, campus safety, campus experience, educational outcomes, and career outcomes. Southwestern earned particularly high marks in the campus safety category, as well as the student selectivity category, which includes metrics such as admission rate, incoming student ACT and SAT scores, and share of first-year students in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class.

WalletHub’s full methodology can be found here.

Southwestern was also featured in WalletHub’s 2026 Best Colleges & Universities Rankings, checking in at #7 in Texas, #36 in the south, and #177 in the nation. This more expansive rankings list features nearly 800 institutions across a wide variety of educational offerings, from doctoral and master’s universities to baccalaureate and associate’s colleges.

In the Lone Star State, WalletHub ranked Southwestern among private schools Rice University (#1) and Texas Christian University (#5), large state institutions the University of Texas (#2) and Texas A&M University (#4), and fellow liberal arts colleges Trinity University (#3) and Austin College (#6).