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2022 Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

8 Ranked Colleges
234 Degrees Awarded
$9,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 1,596 people earned their degree in American U.S. studies, making the major the 309th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 432 American U.S. studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 234 American U.S. studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in American U.S. studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great American U.S. studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the American U.S. studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The united states studies 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 “Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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.

Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for American U.S. Studies (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

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 United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s United States studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $1,145 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Stanford University.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on American U.S. Studies at Stanford University

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. University of California - Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 79 bachelors’s United States studies degrees to qualified students.

UC Berkeley also took the #2 spot in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $9,130 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, 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 American U.S. Studies at University of California - Berkeley

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Fullerton, California, this large public school awarded 67 degrees to qualified bachelors’s United States studies students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, Cal State Fullerton has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal State Fullerton is $6,100 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Fullerton American U.S. Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Long Beach, California, this large public school awarded 36 degrees to qualified bachelors’s United States studies students in 2019-2020.

CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $7,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Long Beach.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about American U.S. Studies at California State University - Long Beach

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, UC Davis has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $10,769 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UC Davis.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on American U.S. Studies at UC Davis

#6

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s United States studies degrees to qualified students.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $16,252 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend USC.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, 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 91%. The impressive 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.

Read full report on American U.S. Studies at USC

#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#7 in overall quality

San Francisco State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. San Francisco State University is located in San Francisco, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s United States studies degrees to qualified students.

SFSU also made our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $12,517 for california bachelor’s degree united states studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend San Francisco State University.

Full SFSU American U.S. Studies Report

#8

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#8 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2022 Best Value United States Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 1 bachelors’s United States studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also took the #8 spot in our “Best American U.S. Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $11,793 for California Bachelor’s Degree United States Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UC Santa Cruz.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about American U.S. Studies at UC Santa Cruz

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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

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.

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