2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Information Technology (Income $0-$30k) in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Information Technology is the 46th most popular major in the country with 38,958 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, information technology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $39,044 and had an average of $25,781 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,873 information technology graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,953 and $19,503 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 214 information technology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in information technology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great information technology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the information technology program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Information Technology (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

#1 in overall quality

$10,872 Average Net Price

$61,516 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school awarded 143 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s IT students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $10,872 for California Bachelor’s Degree IT students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Information Technology at University of California - Santa Cruz

#2

University of Phoenix - California

Costa Mesa, California

#4 in overall quality

$12,680 Average Net Price

$50,328 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Phoenix - California. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UOPX - California is a small school located in Costa Mesa, California that handed out 3 bachelors’s IT degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UOPX - California, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Phoenix - California is $12,680 for California Bachelor’s Degree IT students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Information Technology at UOPX - California

#3

National University

La Jolla, California

#2 in overall quality

$60,523 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 62 bachelors’s IT degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at National University, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Information Technology at National University

#4

California Baptist University

Riverside, California

#3 in overall quality

$20,277 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value IT Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Baptist University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Riverside, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 5 degrees to qualified bachelors’s IT students in 2019-2020.

Cal Baptist also made our “Best Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Baptist is $20,277 for California Bachelor’s Degree IT students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal Baptist Information Technology Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Information Technology (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Information Technology (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Craig Dennis.

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