None of Iowa's universities ranked in the top 100 schools for U.S. News' Best Colleges list in 2026.

The University of Iowa's ranking dropped slightly, bumping it out of the top 100, while Iowa State University increased its ranking from the 2025 list .

U.S. News evaluated more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities based on 17 factors to measure academic quality and graduate success, according to the 2026 methodology. Criteria included graduation rate, first-year retention, and graduation performance rate, among other indicators, to determine the best school.

Which Iowa university ranked the best, according to U.S. News?

University of Iowa remained the highest-ranked university in Iowa; however, it dropped from 98th place in 2025 to No. 102 in 2026, according to U.S. News .

See Full Page