2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts (Income $0-$30k) in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 6,359 people earned their degree in general visual and performing arts, making the major the 125th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general visual and performing arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $24,577 and had an average of $26,968 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,292 general visual and performing arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,800 and $23,419 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 678 general visual and performing arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in general visual and performing arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general visual and performing arts programs and 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 general visual and performing arts program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Value Visual Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. 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 Visual Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california associate degree visual arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Mt. San Antonio College

Walnut, California

#2 in overall quality

$898 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Mt. San Antonio College landed the #1 spot on the list. Walnut, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s visual arts degrees to 28 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree visual arts students whose families make $0-$30k list, Mt. SAC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $898 for California Associate Degree Visual Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Mt. SAC.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at Mt. SAC

#2

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, California

#1 in overall quality

$5,026 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Santa Rosa Junior College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Santa Rosa, California, and it awarded 8 associates’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

SRJC also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Santa Rosa Junior College is $5,026 for California Associate Degree Visual Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at Santa Rosa Junior College

#3

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California

#3 in overall quality

$29,390 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for an Associate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Academy of Art University landed the #3 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 2 associates’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Academy of Art University is $29,390 for california associate degree visual arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Academy of Art University General Visual & Performing Arts Report

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts (Income $0-$30k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0.

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