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2025 Best Human Development & Family Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

13 Colleges in California
1,627 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,729 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in human development & family studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #39 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 13 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Human Development & Family Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,627 bachelor's degrees in human development & family studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Human Development & Family Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Human Development & Family Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of human development & family studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality human development program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for human development & family studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Human Development Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Human Development & Family Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

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 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 Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Human Development & Family Studies in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Human Development

1

University of California - San Diego is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies. UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla.

After graduating, human development bachelor's recipients generally earn about $33,489 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from University of California - San Diego

2

California State University - East Bay is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the human development & family studies degree program at California State University - East Bay earn $8,466 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from California State University - East Bay

3

California State University - Long Beach is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies. CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the city of Long Beach.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the human development program report average early career wages of $30,205.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from California State University - Long Beach

4
163 Annual Graduates
$31,184 Median Starting Salary
$17,900 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat California State University - San Marcos if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in human development & family studies. CSUSM is a large public university located in the suburb of San Marcos.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the human development program make an average of $31,184 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from California State University - San Marcos

5

Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno Pacific is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the human development program report average early career wages of $32,957.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Fresno Pacific University

6
SSU crest
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA

SSU is a medium-sized public university located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the human development program make an average of $33,906 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Sonoma State University

7

PLNU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the human development program state that they receive average early career income of $27,037.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Point Loma Nazarene University

8

UAGC is a very large private for-profit university located in the city of San Diego.

Bachelor's recipients from the human development & family studies major at The University of Arizona Global Campus make $4,215 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from The University of Arizona Global Campus

9
Pacific Oaks College crest
Pacific Oaks College
Pasadena, CA

Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Pacific Oaks College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the human development & family studies degree program at Pacific Oaks College make $6,348 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from Pacific Oaks College

10
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of La Verne, ULV is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in human development & family studies from University of La Verne

Best Human Development & Family Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Human Development & Family Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 268
Oregon 185 361
Nevada 129 119
Hawaii 112 69
Alaska 75 20

View All Rankings >

Human Development & Family Studies is one of 8 different types of Family, Consumer & Human Sciences programs to choose from.

Human Development Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Human Development & Family Studies 1,044
Child Development 583

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Family & Consumer Sciences 465
Textile & Apparel Studies 319
Family & Consumer Economics 6
Human Sciences Business Services 1
Food, Nutrition & Related Services 1

Notes and References

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