UC Merced is No. 1 university for social mobility in the US, new study says. Here’s why
UC Merced is the No. 1 university in the nation for social mobility, according to new college rankings.
The Wall Street Journal recently teamed up with research partners College Pulse and Statista to rank the 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S., rating the top 500 universities in the United States.
In addition to awarding schools overall scores, the Wall Street Journal and College Pulse ranked universities based on best value, best salaries, student experience and social mobility.
“The WSJ/College Pulse Social Mobility ranking ... rewards universities that take in the highest proportion of students coming from lower-income families,” the Wall Street Journal said, “while maintaining high graduation rates and having a positive impact on graduate salaries and minimizing the costs of attending the college.”
“At UC Merced, we routinely say that we don’t do what we do for rankings, but when you excel others will always take notice,” university Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz said in a Sept. 4 news release. “We hope this recent acknowledgment will be yet another opportunity for people to learn about the exceptional culture of student success that has taken root at UC Merced.”
Why is UC Merced No. 1 for social mobility?
UC Merced landed at top of the WSJ/College Pulse Social Mobility ranking with a score of 86.8 out of 100
The university was No. 18 on the overall list of Best Colleges in the U.S. with a score of 84 out of 100, up from No. 59 in 2023.
According to the Wall Street Journal, it costs $13,450 per year on average to attend UC Merced, including tuition, fees, room and board and books and supplies.
However, the value added to graduates’ median salary attributable to them attending UC Merced is $33,874, the Journal found.
UC Merced has a variety of programs that have helped students excel academically, including the Center for Educational Partnerships and the Fiat Lux Scholars program.
The Center for Educational Partnerships works with Central Valley schools serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade help kids become “college and career ready,” UC Merced said on its website, while the Fiat Lux scholars program focuses on providing first-generation college students with academic success and housing options.
The university also partners with College Track, an organization that helps students from low-income community get their bachelor degrees.
About 60% of the student body of UC Merced is comprised of Pell grant-eligible students who have exceptional financial needs, and 65% are first-generation college students according to the news release on Sept 4.
How did other California universities rank?
California State University, Stanislaus, in Turlock came in second on the list of the top schools for social mobility.
California State University, San Bernardino, took third place, while Fresno State was No. 4. California State University, Los Angeles, rounded out the top five.
Elsewhere in the Central Valley, California State University, Sacramento, landed at No. 13, while Fresno Pacific University was No. 14 and UC Davis was No. 32.
What are the top 10 universities for social mobility?
These are the top 10 universities in the nation in terms of enhancing students’ social mobility, according to Wall Street Journal and College Pulse:
UC Merced
California State University, Stanislaus
California State University, San Bernardino
Fresno State
California State University, Los Angeles
Florida International University in Miami
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Northridge
California Polytechnic State University, Pomona
How did Wall Street Journal come up with its rankings?
The Wall Street Journal partnered up with College Pulse and Statista to rank schools using “the latest data available for analysis, it said.
In the social mobility category, schools were scored based on the following components:
Social mobility salary impact
Social mobility graduation rate impact
