WSJ ranks Davidson the Best College in the South
Davidson defends its spot in the Top 10 and trumps its Southern peers, beating out Duke, Rice, and Georgia Tech.
On September 29, the Wall Street Journal released its rankings for the “2026 Best Colleges in the U.S,” once again placing Davidson College at No. 10 in the nation. While other schools in the top 10 shuffled positions, Davidson held steady.
Davidson also retained its standing as the No. 2 liberal arts college, only losing out to Claremont McKenna.
Regionally, a notable shift elevated Davidson to the top of the South. Georgia Tech, last year’s No. 9, fell out of the top ten entirely, making Davidson the highest-ranked college in the region.
The Methodology
Unlike rankings such as U.S. News and Niche, the WSJ ranks universities and liberal arts colleges together, meaning that Davidson competes directly with large research institutions like Harvard and UCLA.
WSJ’s formula emphasizes student outcomes, including salary impact, graduation success, and the estimated years to pay off net price, which together make up 70% of the overall score. The remaining 30% reflects learning environment (20%) and diversity (10%).
How Davidson moved
Although Davidson held its place at No. 10, its overall score rose. Despite the WSJ’s heavy emphasis on outcomes, Davidson’s scores in graduation rates and salary impact stayed the same. The improvement instead came from stronger survey results in learning environment and an improved diversity rating.
Drawing from survey responses of about 120,000 students and alumni across institutions, the WSJ found Davidson scoring higher in learning opportunities, career preparation, facilities, and overall student satisfaction.
Davidson’s diversity rating also improved, a measure that reflects ethnic composition, the share of Pell Grant recipients, and the representation of students with disabilities on campus.
For Davidson, the new WSJ list reinforces its place among the nation’s top colleges and highlights its position as the South’s leader. Holding steady in the top ten while competing directly with much larger universities, the college continues to draw national recognition.