U.S. News Ranks JPCatholic #1 in Best Value Among Western Colleges

U.S. News & World Report, the premier go-to source for national college rankings, placed John Paul the Great Catholic University at #1 for Best Value and #7 overall in its list of Regional Colleges West for 2026. Among the 97 schools of the category, JPCatholic also ranks #6 for Social Mobility (tie).

This marks the third consecutive year that JPCatholic’s ranking has risen in the former two categories.

“This #1 Best Value and #7 Overall ranking are a strong affirmation of the excellence, dedication, and mission-driven work of our faculty and staff,” said President Derry Connolly. “The U.S. News rankings highlight our commitment to providing an outstanding education that delivers strong return on investment: high quality, affordable, and impactful for students and their families. We are honored by this national recognition and deeply grateful for what it represents.”

The announcement comes at an exciting time of growth for the university. A new Creative Arts Complex is scheduled to open in early 2026, more than doubling JPCatholic’s academic space in historic downtown Escondido. This fall, the University is also launching a new Fashion Design emphasis within its BFA in Visual Arts. Meanwhile, the university’s innovative, student-driven Feature Film Program recently celebrated the successful distribution of its second movie No Reception.

Every year U.S. News conducts extensive research of schools across the nation, first by arranging them into various subcategories (national universities, liberal arts colleges, regional colleges, etc.) and then ranking them within those categories according to a wide array of metrics. Rankings are driven primarily by quantitative data; that is, by measurable quantities such as retention rate and student-faculty ratio, rather than opinion surveys or third-party oversight. See methodology

The category “Regional Colleges” refers to schools that focus primarily on undergraduate education, but that grant fewer than half of their degrees in the liberal arts. JPCatholic meets these criteria because, although the humanities and liberal arts form a substantial part of the undergraduate core curriculum, our BA in Humanities is just one of the four bachelors degrees offered.

The many Regional Colleges throughout the nation are then grouped according to geographic region: North, South, Midwest and West. The West region, which covers 15 states, is by far the largest geographically, extending from the Pacific coast through Texas and including Alaska and Hawaii.

View JPCatholic’s Profile on U.S. News & World Report