by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which school to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Best California Schools For The Money For Those Making $30-$48k ranking - to help you make that decision. You may be surprised that some normally high-priced schools offer very generous financial aid packages to those who qualify.
In This Year's Value Report:
After analyzing 154 schools in California, we came up with our list of those that offered the best value programs. Our ranking for the best value schools is based on objective factors. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $30-$48k a year. The net price is the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that that the student receives. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
We go into more detail on these factors on our best value ranking methodology page.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best value (income $30-$48k) school in California in this year’s ranking. Located in Stanford, California, the school is a fairly large private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is Stanford University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in California for overall quality.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list means California Institute of Technology is a great place for students working on their degree. Located in Pasadena, California, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California Institute of Technology is ranked #5 for quality in the state of California. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $1,371.
Learn More About Value at California Institute of Technology
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list means Pomona College is a great place for students working on their degree. Pomona is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Claremont, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Pomona College is ranked #13 for quality in the state of California. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $3,508.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for students working on their degree. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California.
Not only is University of California - Los Angeles a great value, but it is also ranked #6 in California for overall quality. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $7,882.
The quality degree programs at Claremont McKenna College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California. Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Claremont, California.
Claremont McKenna College has the honor of being ranked #4 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $9,160.
University of California - Berkeley landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. This large public school is located in Berkeley, California.
Not only is University of California - Berkeley a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in California for overall quality. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $10,880.
Read full value report on University of California - Berkeley
San Diego State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list. San Diego State University is a large public school located in San Diego, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, San Diego State University is ranked #21 for quality in the state of California. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $2,563.
Golden West College landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. Golden West College is located in Huntington Beach, California and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Golden West College a great value, but it is also ranked #27 in California for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $3,515.
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking, coming in at #9. University of California - Irvine is a large public school located in Irvine, California.
University of California - Irvine has the honor of being ranked #14 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $7,006.
University of Southern California came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California.
Not only is University of Southern California a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in California for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $12,875.
With a ranking of #11, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list. Cal State Fullerton is located in Fullerton, California and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is California State University - Fullerton a great value, but it is also ranked #48 in California for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $2,681.
Learn More About Value at California State University - Fullerton
California State University - Los Angeles landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. This large public school is located in Los Angeles, California.
Not only is California State University - Los Angeles a great value, but it is also ranked #76 in California for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $1,316.
Learn More About Value at California State University - Los Angeles
West Valley College landed the #13 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. Located in Saratoga, California, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, West Valley College is ranked #77 for quality in the state of California. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $1,394.
University of California - San Diego ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
University of California - San Diego has the honor of being ranked #8 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $10,192.
Read full value report on University of California - San Diego
Southwestern College landed the #15 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. SWC Chula Vista is a fairly large public school situated in Chula Vista, California.
Southwestern College has the honor of being ranked #36 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $4,452.
With a ranking of #16, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list. San Bernardino, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
California State University - San Bernardino has the honor of being ranked #97 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $901.
Learn More About Value at California State University - San Bernardino
Moreno Valley College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list. Moreno Valley, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Moreno Valley College has the honor of being ranked #95 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $1,113.
Foothill College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. Foothill College is a public institution located in Los Altos Hills, California.
Not only is Foothill College a great value, but it is also ranked #19 in California for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $7,214.
With a ranking of #19, Ventura College did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list. Ventura College is a fairly large public school located in Ventura, California.
Not only is Ventura College a great value, but it is also ranked #117 in California for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $282.
Pasadena City College landed the #20 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. Pasadena City College is a large public school located in Pasadena, California.
Not only is Pasadena City College a great value, but it is also ranked #59 in California for overall quality. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $3,697.
University of California - Davis came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. This large public school is located in Davis, California.
University of California - Davis has the honor of being ranked #11 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $11,011.
California State University - Long Beach landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. California State University - Long Beach is a large public school located in Long Beach, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Long Beach is ranked #33 for quality in the state of California. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $6,128.
Learn More About Value at California State University - Long Beach
With a ranking of #23, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California list. Located in Sacramento, California, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Sacramento is ranked #54 for quality in the state of California. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $4,796.
Read full value report on California State University - Sacramento
University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking, coming in at #24. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
University of California - Santa Barbara has the honor of being ranked #7 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Students from families who make $30-$48k a year pay an annual average net price of $12,305.
Read full value report on University of California - Santa Barbara
Harvey Mudd College landed the #25 spot on the 2024 Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Claremont, California.
Not only is Harvey Mudd College a great value, but it is also ranked #10 in California for overall quality. The average yearly net price for a student whose family makes $30-$48k per year is $11,711.
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These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in California ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita, CA | Value Report |
| 27 | Saddleback College | Mission Viejo, CA | Value Report |
| 28 | Sonoma State University | Rohnert Park, CA | Value Report |
| 29 | California State University - Fresno | Fresno, CA | Value Report |
| 30 | Fresno City College | Fresno, CA | Value Report |
| 31 | Mt. San Antonio College | Walnut, CA | Value Report |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.