2025 Best Civil Engineering Schools in California
22
Colleges in California
3,269
Civil Eng Degrees Awarded
$71,769
Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in
civil engineering, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #50 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 22 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Civil Engineering Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,269 degrees in civil engineering annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Civil Engineering School
Your choice of civil engineering school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Civil Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Civil Engineering Rankings by Degree Level
The civil eng school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Civil Engineering Schools in California.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
Best Schools for Civil Engineering in California
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the civil eng degrees they offer, see the list below.
10 Top California Schools in Civil Eng
Every student who is interested in civil engineering has to take a look at Stanford University. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were approximately 181 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Civil Engineering degree recipients from Stanford University get an earnings boost of approximately $11,971 above the typical income of civil engineering majors.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from Stanford University
University of California - Davis is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in civil engineering. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were roughly 227 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Those civil engineering students who get their degree from University of California - Davis earn $5,606 more than the typical civil eng grad.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Davis
University of Southern California is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in civil engineering. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 79 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the civil engineering program at University of Southern California earn $17,116 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of Southern California
University of California - Berkeley is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in civil engineering. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 383 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Civil Engineering degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley get an earnings boost of approximately $6,373 above the average income of civil engineering graduates.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Berkeley
Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 199 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the civil engineering degree program at University of California - Los Angeles earn $6,787 more than the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Los Angeles
UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the large city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.
There were about 187 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the civil eng program report average early career earnings of $71,792.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - San Diego
Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #165 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.
There were about 175 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Those civil engineering students who get their degree from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo earn $10,089 more than the typical civil eng grad.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
22nd
Most Popular In CA
Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #53 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.
There were about 22 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from Santa Clara University
UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were about 161 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. Civil Engineering degree recipients from University of California - Irvine earn a boost of about $2,066 over the typical earnings of civil engineering graduates.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from University of California - Irvine
Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Pomona. This university ranks 60th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 315 civil engineering students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly Pomona in the most recent data year. Civil Engineering degree recipients from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona receive an earnings boost of approximately $3,989 above the average earnings of civil engineering majors.
More information about a degree in civil engineering from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
