Washington, D.C. — For the second year in a row, Forbes has ranked Howard University as the nation’s top historically Black college or university (HBCU) in its 2026 America’s Top Colleges list.
The annual ranking evaluates 500 U.S. colleges based on return on investment, average student debt, graduate outcomes, first-year retention, on-time graduation rates, and post-graduate earnings. According to Forbes, the goal is to highlight schools that “produce successful, high-earning and influential graduates from all economic backgrounds, with less student debt.”
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Howard stood out for its strong performance across these metrics, particularly in affordability and long-term student success. Students at Howard graduate with lower average debt than peers at other leading Washington, D.C. institutions, including Georgetown, George Washington, American, and Catholic University.
The recognition adds to a growing list of accolades for the university. Earlier this month, LinkedIn also named Howard the nation’s top HBCU, citing its ability to “set graduates up for long-term success” through high job placement rates, leadership opportunities, internships, and entrepreneurship.
In addition, Howard recently earned distinction as the only HBCU with a Research One (R1) classification—an elite designation reserved for universities with the highest levels of research activity.
“American colleges are still delivering gold-standard undergraduate education,” Forbes noted in its announcement. “Cost and how well a school fits a student (academically and otherwise) should remain the prime factors as families consider college choices.”
Howard’s back-to-back top ranking underscores its growing reputation as not only a leader among HBCUs but also as a national force in higher education.
