Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) kept its No. 4 ranking among medium-sized suburban public universities in California on Forbes' 2027 college list, released Thursday, Sept. 10.
The university earned the same placement on the 2026 list. It also ranked 11th nationally in the category. Forbes evaluated roughly 1,600 schools across the country.
"Maintaining this standing two years running speaks to the consistency and quality of what we offer our students," interim president Carlos Vargas said.
Vargas, who holds a doctorate in physics and aerospace science, took over as CSUMB's interim president Aug. 1. He said the ranking reflects work by faculty and staff to meet the goals in the university's vision statement.
Forbes highlighted CSUMB's status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The designation tracks with the university's enrollment data: 47% of its 8,233 students in fall 2025 were Latino, according to CSUMB's enrollment records. Nearly half of undergraduates were first-generation college students.
One in three CSUMB students came from Monterey County, the enrollment data shows.
Forbes noted that CSUMB's coastal location offers research and hands-on learning tied to marine ecosystems, environmental conservation and sustainability. The magazine said students can participate in internships and community-based research across the Monterey Bay region.
This year's evaluation added a new data source. For the first time, Forbes incorporated post-graduation earnings data from People Data Labs, a private research company tracking salary information from 70 million companies worldwide.
The rankings also drew on the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard and research from Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based policy think tank.
No other Monterey Peninsula institution appeared in the category rankings in the CSUMB announcement.
