9
Ranked Colleges
2,283
Degrees Awarded
$13,300
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Information Technology is the 42nd most popular major in the country with 40,555 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, information technology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $46,525 and had an average of $26,794 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 2,283 information technology graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,999 and $19,657 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in information technology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality information technology programs that also have a lower cost than 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k.
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - San Diego is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 38 ’s IT degrees to qualified students.
UCSD also made our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $9,823 for California IT students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UCSD.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCSD Information Technology Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Cruz. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. University of California - Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 135 ’s IT degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $11,038 for California IT students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad 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 full report on Information Technology at University of California - Santa Cruz
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Carson, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s IT degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUDH, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSUDH is $2,657 for california it students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Information Technology at CSUDH
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Southern California is $17,287 for California IT students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read more about Information Technology at USC
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - San Marcos. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. CSUSM is a fairly large public school situated in San Marcos, California. It awarded 12 ’s IT degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUSM, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - San Marcos is $9,397 for California IT students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 California State University - San Marcos
With a ranking of #6, California Baptist University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 31 ’s IT degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Baptist, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Baptist is $21,769 for California IT students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Information Technology at Cal Baptist
With a ranking of #7, Laurus College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Laurus College is a small private for-profit school situated in San Luis Obispo, California. It awarded 33 ’s IT degrees in 2020-2021.
Laurus College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Laurus College is $11,100 for California IT students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Information Technology at Laurus College
University of San Diego landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. USD is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 40 ’s IT degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at USD, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USD is $21,951 for California IT students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of San Diego Information Technology Report
With a ranking of #9, Asher College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value IT Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Asher College is located in Sacramento, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 149 ’s IT degrees to qualified students.
Asher College also took the #7 spot in our “Best Information Technology Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,776 for california it students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Asher College.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.8% 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 Asher College
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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
- *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
