2026’s Best Colleges in Maryland, Per Study

With the first “early decision” college-application deadline looming on Nov. 1, and tuition and room and board at a four-year college costing $24,920 – $58,600 per year, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its 2026’s Best College & University Rankings report, in addition to separate rankings for colleges and for universities.

To help college-bound seniors make the most informed school choices, WalletHub compared nearly 800 higher-education institutions in the U.S. based on 30 key measures grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost & Financing and Career Outcomes. The data set ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.

Top 10 Colleges & Universities in Maryland

With that in mind, here’s a closer look at some of the top schools and how each performed in certain metrics:

School Snapshot: Johns Hopkins University (1 = Best; 6 = Average; 12 = Worst):

• 1^st – Admission Rate
• 12^th – Net Cost
• 1^st – Student-Faculty Ratio
• 7^th – On-Campus Crime
• 1^st – Gender & Racial Diversity
• 1^st – Graduation Rate
• 1^st – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: University of Maryland-College Park (1 = Best; 6 = Average; 12 = Worst):

• 3^rd – Admission Rate
• 7^th – Net Cost
• 11^th – Student-Faculty Ratio
• 6^th – On-Campus Crime
• 3^rd – Gender & Racial Diversity
• 2^nd – Graduation Rate
• 2^nd – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: St. John’s College (1 = Best; 6 = Average; 12 = Worst):

• 2^nd – Admission Rate
• 9^th – Net Cost
• 2^nd – Student-Faculty Ratio
• 5^th – On-Campus Crime
• 8^th – Gender & Racial Diversity
• 8^th – Graduation Rate
• 11^th – Post-Attendance Median Salary

To view the full reports, please visit:

Best Colleges & Universities Overall: https://wallethub.com/edu/e/college-rankings/40750

Best Colleges: https://wallethub.com/edu/e/best-colleges-in-the-us-ranking/40748

Best Universities: https://wallethub.com/edu/e/best-universities-in-usa-ranking/39704