College Rivalry

Texas school claims top spot among best universities in the world

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The University of Texas at Austin was named one of the best schools in the world.

Sorry, Rice. Go gig 'em somewhere else, Aggies. The University of Texas at Austin has been named the No. 1 school in the state, and No. 32 in the world by U.S. News and World Report.

While beating out other Texas schools gives UT bragging rights, the international ranking is even more impressive. Out of 1,250 institutions in 74 countries, the university was ranked No. 32 in the world, beating out schools like University of Copenhagen (No. 37); Kings College London (No. 41); University of Tokyo (No. 57); and, yes, University of Maryland, College Park (No. 50).

Though the magazine has released university rankings for the past four years, this is the first time the magazine has included areas of study in its report. Eleven UT subjects made the grade with computer science (No. 2); chemistry (No. 10); and mathematics (No. 13) taking top billing.

According to U.S. News, the rankings were determined by a pre-determined set of criteria such as global and regional research reputations and number of publications produced. Researchers also sent out surveys to academics around the world in order to "create a comprehensive snapshot of [their] opinions about world universities."

So just where did other Texas universities land? Rice University was closest at No. 81; Texas A&M ranked No. 118. UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas ranked No. 121; and Baylor College of Medicine came in right behind at No. 126.

Locally, the University of Texas at San Antonio ranked No. 448 on the list, with a few programs appearing in the subject rankings (chemistry, No. 223; clinical medicine, No. 222; and engineering, No. 367).

Meanwhile, nearby Texas State University at San Marcos landed all the way down at No. 1,233 out of 1250 — the very last Texas school on the list.

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salary news

Here's the income San Antonians must make to live comfortably in 2025

Photo by Morgane Perraud on Unsplash

San Antonians have it better than most other cities in Texas.

As the cost of living in San Antonio fluctuates, a financially stable income is getting harder to come by. A just-released study has revealed that San Antonians need to make $1,600 more than they did last year to make living comfortable in 2025.

Residents in San Antonio have the sixth most affordable salary requirements nationwide in order to maintain financial stability in 2025, according to SmartAsset's annual study. Their experts collected data from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator to determine the cost of living for a childless individual in the 100 largest American metro areas.

Single adults in San Antonio would need to make $86,694 a year to live a comfortable life in 2025, or $1,622 more than last year's salary requirements.

That's a huge jump from SmartAsset's 2023 report, when single San Antonians only needed to make $59,270 post-tax to live a financially stable life.

For a family of two working adults and two children, the combined income necessary to live comfortably in San Antonio is $199,181 a year. For additional context, the median household income in San Antonio was $62,322 in 2023.

Breaking down the cost of living in San Antonio
SmartAsset also used the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy to figure out what a “comfortable lifestyle” meant for the purpose of their study: 50 percent of their income goes to a person’s needs/living expenses, 30 percent to a person’s wants, and 20 percent for their savings or paying down debt.

That means a childless San Antonio individual would need to spend $43,347 of their salary on their living expenses, $26,008 for discretionary expenses, and put about $17,339 toward their savings or debt payments.

Families of four would have to spend about $99,591 on living expenses, $59,754 on entertainment or hobbies, and $39,836 toward savings or paying down debt in order to live comfortably in San Antonio, based on the study's findings.

"Most households aim to maintain a cushion between the necessary spending for day-to-day necessities – like housing, food, utilities and childcare – while also enjoying life in the moment and saving for the future," the report's author wrote. "This means keeping room in the budget for the occasional vacation or splurge, as well as savings for long-term goals like retirement or a child’s college education."

The top 10 U.S. cities with the most affordable salaries needed to live comfortably in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Indianapolis, Indiana
No. 2 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
No. 3 – Tulsa, Oklahoma
No. 4 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 5 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
No. 6 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 7 – Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Tuscon, Arizona (tied)
No. 9 – Spokane, Washington
No. 10 – Baltimore, Maryland

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