Crowning achievement

San Antonio university declared one of the top schools in Texas

Trinity is No. 3 in Texas, says new ranking.

Photo by Joel Pena

Personal finance website WalletHub has released its 2020's Best College & University Rankings, just in time for the looming November 1 “early decision” college application deadline. And one San Antonio university — one that is certainly no stranger to accolades — claims a top spot among the best schools in Texas.

Trinity University is ranked the third best school in Texas, 79th in the U.S. Rice takes the No. 1 Texas spot, followed by University of Texas at Austin at No. 2.

In order to determine the rankings, WalletHub compared more than 1,000 colleges and universities across seven key dimensions: student selectivity, cost and financing, faculty resources, campus safety, campus experience, educational outcomes, and career outcomes.

Among Texas schools, Trinity comes in second for student-faculty ratio, third for admission rate, fifth for post-attendance median salary, and seventh for graduation.

Rice comes in first in Texas for the following individual metrics: admission rate, student-faculty ratio, graduation rate, and post-attendance median salary. The school places second for gender and racial diversity.

UT ranks second for graduation rate, third for post-attendance median salary, fourth for admission rate, and seventh for gender and racial diversity.

Here are the top 10 schools in Texas, according to WalletHub:

Rice University
University of Texas at Austin
Trinity University
Baylor University
LeTourneau University
Texas Christian University
Texas A&M University-College Station
University of Dallas
Southwestern University
Southern Methodist University

At No. 13 on the overall list, Rice shares the spotlight with prestigious institutions, coming in behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University, and Columbia University.

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High ranking

San Antonio gets surprising score in study of best cities for veterans

United States Military Veterans Parade Association, 2023 San Antonio Veterans Day Parade

United States Military Veterans Parade Association/Facebook

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A new analysis by personal finance website WalletHub has declared Military City itself, San Antonio, as the 28th best American city for veterans in 2024.

The report, "Best & Worst Places for Veterans to Live (2024)," ranked 100 of the most populous U.S. cities based on 19 factors, such as veteran unemployment rates, veteran income growth, each city's housing affordability, quality of life, and more.

The top five best cities for veterans to live in 2024 are Austin, Texas (No. 1), Orlando, Florida (No. 2), Raleigh, North Carolina (No. 3), Tampa, Florida (No. 4), and Virginia Beach, Virginia (No. 5).

San Antonio's veteran-friendliness, economy, and quality of life led to a score of 58.11 points out of a possible 100. The top third of the list is nothing to scoff at, but for a city with such a strong connection to the military, it is at least a bit surprising.

Out of all four major categories in the report — employment, economy, quality of life, and health — San Antonio ranked the highest for its economy (No. 19). The city earned a respectable ranking of No. 30 for the national "quality of life" category, but fell behind in the "health" (No. 48) and "employment" (No. 72) categories.

One of the most important factors that veterans often consider before settling down in a new city is whether there's a large veteran community, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"When veterans return home from serving our nation, it’s important for them to live in a place that provides good education and employment opportunities, along with access to quality care for their physical and mental health," said Lupo. "The best cities for veterans have all these characteristics, plus added bonuses like large veteran populations for community support, plus many restaurants and entertainment venues that offer veteran discounts."

Austin is the best city in the U.S. for veterans to live
Austin is no stranger to the WalletHub list, having ranked near the top for several years previously. WalletHub's experts said the Texas Capital claimed the overall No. 1 spot because of its high-quality universities and income potential for veterans. The city has the ninth-highest median annual veteran income (amounting to more than $59,000), and the fourth-best job growth rate nationwide.

"It’s also good for veterans to live in a place where they can form a community of support with others who have gone through similar experiences," the report's author wrote. "Austin has the second-largest projected increase in veterans between 2023 and 2050, so that will certainly help veterans meet each other and forge friendships."

The report also mentioned that Austin boasts the 11th highest number of restaurants and attractions per capita that specifically offer military discounts, making the city a remarkable place "for going out to eat or enjoying entertainment as a veteran."

Elsewhere in Texas
Austin was the only Texas city to make it into the top 10, with Laredo coming close by ranking 12th out of all 100 cities analyzed. Meanwhile, San Antonio was sandwiched between the North Texas cities of Dallas (No. 25) and Garland (No. 33).

Other Texas cities that earned spots in the top 50 include:

No. 20 – Fort Worth
No. 22 – Plano
No. 34 – Irving
No. 38 – Arlington
No. 39 – Lubbock
No. 50 – Corpus Christi

Even though a majority of Texas cities in the report landed among the top 50 best places for veterans to live, WalletHub placed Texas 28th in its 2024 study that ranked the "Best & Worst States for Military Retirees".

Nationally, Florida had the highest concentration of cities that were deemed the best places for veterans to live in 2024, with St. Petersburg (No. 9) and Jacksonville (No. 10) rounding out the top 10.

At the opposite end of the study, Newark, New Jersey (No. 100) was declared the worst city for veterans to live. Newark is joined by Detroit, Michigan (No. 99), Memphis, Tennessee (No. 98), Baton Rouge, Louisiana (No. 97), and Indianapolis, Indiana (No. 96) in the bottom five.

The top 10 best cities for veterans to live are:

No. 1 – Austin, Texas
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 4 – Tampa, Florida
No. 5 – Virginia Beach, Virginia
No. 6 – Irvine, California
No. 7 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 8 – Madison, Wisconsin
No. 9 – St. Petersburg, Florida
No. 10 – Jacksonville, Florida

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

rankings report veterans wallethub san antonio