''U.S. News & World Report'' (''USNWR'', ''US NEWS'') is an American media company publishing news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. The company was launched in 1948 as the merger of domestic-focused weekly newspaper ''U.S. News'' and international-focused weekly magazine ''World Report''. In 1995, the company launched its website, ''usnews.com'' and, in 2010, ceased printing its weekly

news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

, publishing only its ranking editions in print. ''US News'' licences its name to the subjects it ranks, so they may then use the annual rankings in promotional literature.

History

20th century

After the closure of '' United States Daily'', which was published between 1926 and 1933, David Lawrence (1888–1973) founded the newspaper ''United States News'' in 1933, which was converted to magazine format in 1940. In 1946, Lawrence founded the magazine ''World Report''. The two magazines covered national and international news separately. In 1948, Lawrence merged them into ''U.S. News & World Report''. He then sold the magazine to his employees. The magazine initially tended to be slightly more

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

than its two primary competitors, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', focusing more on economic, health, and education stories. It also eschewed sports, entertainment, and celebrity news. Important milestones in the early history of the magazine include the introduction of the "Washington Whispers" column in 1934, and the "News You Can Use" column in 1952. In 1958, the weekly magazine's circulation passed one million reaching two million by 1973. Since 1983, ''U.S. News & World Report'' has been known primarily for its influential ranking and annual reports of colleges and graduate schools, spanning across most fields and subjects. ''U.S. News & World Report'' is America's oldest and best-known ranker of academic institutions, and covers the fields of business, law, medicine, engineering, education, social sciences and public affairs, in addition to many other areas. Its print edition consistently has been included in national bestseller lists, augmented by online subscriptions. Additional rankings published by ''U.S. News & World Report'' include hospitals, medical specialties, and automobiles. In October 1984,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based publisher and real estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman purchased ''U.S. News & World Report''. Zuckerman had owned the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

''. In 1993, ''U.S. News & World Report'' entered the digital world by providing content to

CompuServe CompuServe, Inc. (CompuServe Information Service, Inc., also known by its initialism CIS or later CSi) was an American Internet company that provided the first major commercial online service provider, online service. It opened in 1969 as a times ...

and in 1995 the website usnews.com was launched.

21st century

In 2001, the website won a National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online. In 2007, ''U.S. News & World Report'' published its first list of the nation's best high schools. Its ranking methodology included state test scores and documented the success of poor and minority students on the exams, and schools' performance in Advanced Placement exams. Beginning in June 2008, the magazine reduced its publication frequency in three steps. In June 2008, citing a decline overall in magazine circulation and advertising, ''U.S. News & World Report'' announced that it would become a biweekly publication, starting in January 2009. It hoped advertisers would be attracted to the schedule, which allowed ads to stay on newsstands a week longer. However, five months later the magazine changed its frequency again, becoming monthly. In August 2008, ''U.S. News'' expanded and revamped its online opinion section. The new version of the opinion page included daily new op-ed content as well as the new Thomas Jefferson Street blog. An internal memo was sent to the magazine's staff on November 5, 2010, informing them that the "December issue will be our last print monthly sent to subscribers, whose remaining print and digital replica subscriptions will be filled by other publishers." The memo said that the publication would be moving to a primarily digital format but that special issues such as "the college and grad guides, as well as hospital and personal finance guides" would be printed. Prior to ending physical publication in 2010, ''U.S. News'' was generally the third-ranked general United States-based news magazine after ''Time'' and ''Newsweek''. A weekly digital magazine, ''U.S. News Weekly'', introduced in January 2009, continued to offer subscription content until it stopped publication at the end of April 2015.

Ownership

The company is owned by U.S. News & World Report, L.P., a privately held company with editorial headquarters in Washington, D.C., and its advertising, sales, and corporate offices in

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The company's move to the Web made it possible for ''U.S. News & World Report'' to expand its service journalism with the introduction of several consumer-facing rankings products. By the early 2010s, under the leadership of Brian Kelly, the company had returned to profitability, largely through its list model, adopted in 2009, and the ease with which that transferred to online publishing. The leadership team includes executive chairman Eric Gertler, president and chief executive officer William Holiber, chief financial officer and chief operating officer Neil Maheshwari, and Dafna Linzner, the editorial director. Brian Kelly was the chief content officer from April 2007 to August 2019 and Kim Castro was the chief content officer until 2023. The company is owned by media proprietor Mortimer Zuckerman.

Rankings

Who Runs America?

The first ''U.S. News & World Report''s rankings was its "Who Runs America?" surveys. They were published in the spring annually from 1974 to 1986. The magazine cover for each release featured persons selected by the ''USN & WR'' as being the ten most powerful persons in the United States. Each edition of the series listed the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

as the most powerful person, but the #2 position included people like Secretary of State

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

(1974), Federal Reserve Chairmen Paul Volcker and Arthur Burns (each listed multiple years), and U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (1979). Most of the top ten each year were government officials; occasionally others were included like TV anchormen Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, Chase Manhattan Bank Chairman David Rockefeller, AFL–CIO leader George Meany, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. The only woman to make the top ten list was First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1980. In addition to these overall top ten persons, the publication also included top persons in each of several fields, including education, business, finance, journalism, and other areas. The survey was discontinued after its 1986 edition.

Best Colleges

Best Global Universities

In October 2014, ''U.S. News & World Report'' published its inaugural "Best Global Universities" rankings. ''

Inside Higher Ed ''Inside Higher Ed'' is an American online publication of news, opinion, resources, events and jobs in the higher education sphere. In 2022, Quad Partners, a private equity firm, sold it to Times Higher Education, itself owned by Inflexion Priv ...

'' noted that ''U.S. News'' was entering into the international college and university rankings area which was "dominated by three major global university rankings", namely the '' Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', the '' Academic Ranking of World Universities'', and the ''

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

''. Robert Morse, "U.S. News's chief data strategist," said that "it's natural for ''U.S. News'' to get into this space". He said that ''U.S. News'' "will also be the first American publisher to enter the global rankings space".

Best Hospitals

Since 1990, ''U.S. News & World Report'' has compiled Best Hospitals rankings. The rankings are specifically based on a different methodology which looks at difficult ( high acuity) cases within 16 specialties including

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

; diabetes and

endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

; ear, nose, and throat;

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...

, geriatrics, gynecology;

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

and heart surgery; kidney disorders;

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

and

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

;

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

orthopedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

pulmonology Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek suffix "study of"), pneumology (, built on Greek πνεύμων "lung") or pneumonology () is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract. ...

, rehabilitation, rheumatology, and

urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

. In addition to rankings for each of these specialties, hospitals that excel in many ''U.S. News'' areas are ranked in the Honor Roll.

Best Cars

Since 2007, ''U.S. News'' has ranked new and used automobiles. The rankings span over 30 classes of cars,

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

s, SUVs, minivans,

wagon A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by Working animal#Draft animals, draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are i ...

s, and

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

s. Each automobile receives an overall score and a performance, interior, and recommendation score. Scores are based on the critics selected by ''U.S. News'', as well as reliability and safety data. ''U.S. News'' also produces annual "Best Cars for the Money" and "Best Cars for Families" awards across approximately 20 classes of cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans. Money award winners are derived by combining vehicle price and five-year cost of ownership with the opinion of the automotive press, while family awards are tabulated by combining critics' opinions with the vehicle's availability of family-friendly features and interior space, as well as safety and reliability data. Money and family award winners are announced in February and March of each year, respectively.

Best States

In 2017, ''U.S. News'' published its first ranking of all 50 U.S. states, incorporating metrics in seven categories: health care, education, crime and corrections, infrastructure, opportunity, economy, and government. The weighting of the individual categories in determining overall rank was informed by surveys on what matters most to residents.

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

occupied the top rank, and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

ranked worst. In 2018, the eight categories were: health care, education, economy, opportunity, infrastructure, crime and corrections, fiscal stability, and quality of life.

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

was ranked first, and

ranked worst. In 2019, natural environment replaced the quality of life category. Washington occupied the top rank, and

ranked worst. No ranking was published in 2020. In 2021, Washington,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

topped the list;

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...