2025 Best Sociology Associate Degree Schools in California
17
Colleges in California
4,585
Associate Degrees
If you pursue a associate degree in
sociology, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #22 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 17 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Sociology Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,585 associate degrees in sociology during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Sociology School for Your Associate Degree
Your choice of sociology for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. 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
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate 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:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to sociology students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of sociology students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for sociology to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized sociology related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for sociology students working on their associate degree.
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 Sociology Associate Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.