John Jay College was ranked #4 for social mobility and #5 for public colleges among regional universities by U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 Best Colleges rankings. 

The rankings evaluated about 1,500 colleges and universities in more than a dozen areas to produce the lists. To gauge a school's success at promoting social mobility, U.S. News compared graduation rates of students who receive Pell Grants with all other students. Students who receive federal Pell Grants typically come from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually though most Pell Grant money goes to students with total family incomes below $20,000. 

John Jay’s high social mobility and top public college rankings confirm the college's focus on student success and ensuring finances are not a barrier to earning a valuable degree. 

John Jay was also recently ranked #1 in the country for criminal justice, forensic science and legal studies programs by University HQ, #7 in “best bang for the buck” by Washington Monthly, a top veteran-friendly school by US Veterans Magazine and  #1 in most affordable security degree programs by Security Degree Hub.