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California State University, San Bernardino has again earned Money magazine’s highest distinction, receiving a five-star rating in the publication’s 2026 Best Colleges list, which evaluates colleges on value rather than assigning traditional numerical rankings.
CSUSB is one of only six campuses in the 22-campus California State University system to receive Money’s five-star rating in 2026, joining Cal State Fresno, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Stanislaus and San José State University.
The recognition marks the second consecutive year CSUSB has received a five-star rating. In 2025, the university was among nine CSU campuses to earn the publication’s top distinction.
Unlike conventional college rankings, Money groups institutions into its star rating categories that range from two to five stars. The publication says the approach better reflects meaningful differences in institutional performance and avoids overstating small score differences that can separate schools in numerical rankings.
For its 2026 Best Colleges list, Money evaluated more than 2,400 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges nationwide. Schools first had to meet eligibility standards, including minimum enrollment, reliable institutional data, financial stability and strong graduation outcomes. A total of 735 colleges qualified for evaluation.
Money then assessed eligible institutions using 25 metrics across three weighted categories: quality of education (30%), affordability (40%) and outcomes (30%). The measures include graduation rates, net price, financial aid, student debt, alumni earnings, economic mobility and student loan repayment, among other factors. Colleges were then assigned one of seven star ratings, with five stars representing schools that score exceptionally high across most of the publication’s metrics.
According to Money, the ratings are designed to help students and families identify colleges that deliver strong educational value while fitting their financial circumstances.
