Catawba College is No. 1 among Regional Colleges in the South in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, rising three places from a year ago. The College shares the top spot with Flagler College in Florida.
“For 175 years Catawba College has pursued the Ideal of Scholarship with Character and Culture for Service,” said President David P. Nelson. “Under the leadership of our extraordinary faculty, and with the support of our dedicated staff, our students continue aspire and achieve in remarkable ways. To be named among the best colleges in the nation is a tribute to their good work.”
The U.S. News rankings draw on measures of academic quality and student success, including graduation and retention, social mobility, faculty and financial resources, and outcomes after graduation. Those measures provide students and families with an independent point of comparison and offer another way to see the results of sustained work across the College.
Catawba’s rise to No. 1 comes during a period of considerable momentum. This fall, Catawba welcomed one of its largest incoming classes ever, with a 10 percent increase in first-year students over last year. The Princeton Review again named Catawba among its Best 391 Colleges. And Catawba Athletics finished No. 10 nationally in NCAA Division II in the Learfield Directors’ Cup.
That momentum is also visible across Catawba’s campus, where more than $120 million has been invested in capital projects, all in accord with Catawba’s legacy of environmental stewardship. Centennial Hall, the College’s new 130-bed residence hall, built to Passive House (PHIUS) standards, welcomed its first students this fall. This is part of a broader renewal of campus that includes historic buildings, academic and student spaces, and major infrastructure improvements, including an expanded geoexchange system that will heat and cool 90 percent of the campus with recycled groundwater.
The scale of that investment is significant, but its purpose is straightforward: to support the living and learning experiences that shape a Catawba education.
Catawba also tied for No. 1 in Top Private Colleges within the Regional Colleges (South) category. The College ranked No. 22 in Best Value Schools, up from No. 23, and tied for No. 22 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, up from No. 24. Both rankings are within the same regional category.
The 2027 edition of the U.S. News rankings evaluates more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities, using up to 17 factors to measure academic quality and graduate success. The annual rankings provide students and families with information to compare institutions, including data on graduation rates and postgraduate earnings.
The rankings and methodology are available at U.S. News Best Colleges.
About Catawba College
Founded in 1851, Catawba College is a four-year, private liberal arts college located on a 276-acre campus, including a 189-acre ecological preserve, in Salisbury, N.C. Ranked as one of the best colleges in the South, Catawba is a learning community of nearly 1,400 students from 35 states and 45 nations, providing students with opportunities shaped by the Catawba Ideal: Scholarship with Character and Culture for Service. Additional information is available at catawba.edu.
