The top public universities in the US:
1. University of California, Berkeley
1. University of California, Los Angeles
3. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
3. University of Virginia
5. University of Florida
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
7. University of California, Santa Barbara
8. University of California, Irvine
8. University of California, San Diego
10. University of California, Davis
10. University of Texas at Austin
10. University of Wisconsin--Madison
Source:
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges...ies/top-public
6 of the top 12 public universities are in California. Combine the state populations of Michigan, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, and you get 85.7 million. By the population theory, California should only have half the top universities of these states combined. And Texas and Florida should have 3 or 4 universities each on this list.