How TIME and Statista Determined America's Best Community Colleges of 2027

TIME and Statista have officially unveiled their list of America's Best Community Colleges for 2027. This recognition is given to the top community colleges offering associate degree programs across the U.S. to fulfill specific criteria. To qualify, a community college must offer two-year degree programs, be a public institution located in the 50 states or Washington, D.C., enroll over 100 students, be financially solvent and officially accredited.

The ranking is determined by a comprehensive Key Performance Indicator (KPI) analysis focusing on five key dimensions: student success rate, graduates' earnings, return on investment, diversity, and campus resources. Data on the community colleges' performance was sourced from publicly available records such as IPEDS and College Scorecard.

The final scores for each college were calculated by combining the results from these five dimensions, with the final score being 30% student success rate, 30% graduates' earnings, 20% return on investment, 10% diversity, and 10% campus resources. A total of 250 community colleges were selected for the list, which is then alphabetized within each state.

It's important to note that this list is not exhaustive and is based on journalistic criteria of TIME and Statista. The evaluation was carried out by Statista, a statistics and market research company. The list includes only those community colleges that meet the specified criteria, and a position in the list is a positive acknowledgment of research based on publicly available data sources at the time.

However, events occurring after September 17, 2026, were not considered in the analysis. Therefore, the results of this list should not be solely relied upon for future decisions. Instead, this information should be considered alongside other available data about the community college in question. The list does not dispute the quality of community colleges not included.