2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k
13
Ranked Colleges
1,136
Degrees Awarded
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking.
Chemical Engineering is the 70th most popular major in the country with 12,917 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, chemical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $65,870 and had an average of $23,285 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 1,136 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,086 and $17,925 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 13 colleges that offered a degree in chemical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent chemical engineering programs, but they also 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 chemical engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k
The colleges and universities below are the best for california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Chemical Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Stanford University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 65 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
Stanford also made our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $7,081 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Stanford Chemical Engineering Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 175 degrees to qualified ’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.
UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” list. It costs about $13,423 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UC Berkeley.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 119 students in 2020-2021.
UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,644 for california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UCLA.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 Chemical Engineering at UCLA
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 120 students in 2020-2021.
UC Davis also made our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $14,193 for california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at University of California - Davis
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of California - San Diego is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 130 ’s chem eng degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k list, UCSD has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $14,310 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at University of California - San Diego
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 77 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Irvine is $13,275 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at UC Irvine
University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 59 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k list, UCSB has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,583 for california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UCSB.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Full UCSB Chemical Engineering Report
University of Southern California ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. USC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 68 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k list, USC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend USC is $22,826 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read more about Chemical Engineering at USC
University of California - Riverside landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 88 students in 2020-2021.
UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Riverside is $11,126 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCR Chemical Engineering Report
California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #10. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 74 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k list, CSULB has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $11,189 for california chem eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 Chemical Engineering at California State University - Long Beach
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Cal Poly Pomona is a large public school situated in Pomona, California. It awarded 73 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal Poly Pomona also made our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #11. The estimated yearly cost for California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $15,958 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Chemical Engineering Report
San Jose State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 49 students in 2020-2021.
San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $17,338 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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 more about Chemical Engineering at San Jose State
California Baptist University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Chem Eng Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. California Baptist University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 16 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal Baptist also took the #13 spot in our “Best Chemical Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Baptist University is $25,553 for California Chem Eng students whose families make $48-$75k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 Chemical Engineering at California Baptist University
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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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Mikulova.
