2021 Best Colleges for the Money (With No Aid) in California
Choosing which college to attend may be one of the most important decisions in your life. College Factual has developed its Best California Schools For The Money For Those With No Aid ranking as one tool you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 90 colleges and universities to determine which were the best for overall value for the money with no aid in California. This ranking doesn't just identify the colleges with the lowest costs. Rather, it highlights those institutions that offer excellent educational experiences for a lower cost than other schools of roughly the same caliber. Thus, one college may rank better than another, but the second school could have a lower average cost.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
Our average cost calculation adds up all expenses, such as tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses. So it is an approximation of how much you will have to pay out-of-pocket each year on average.
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Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as overall quality or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head!
Top Colleges for the Money (Without Aid) in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2021 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best school for overall value for the money with no aid in California for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a large public school situated in San Luis Obispo, California. It awarded 5,185 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.5 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $28,927 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo be around $129,304. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The low student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 20% of our Best Colleges in California ranking.
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Out of the 90 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school handed out 9,069 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at UCLA is 4.2 years, and it costs students who receive no aid about $35,793 per year to attend the school. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from UCLA is $149,257. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCLA also is in the top 10% of our Best Colleges in California ranking.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of California - San Diego helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for the money in California. UCSD is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 8,037 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At UCSD, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.3 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $33,849 for students who receive no aid. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from UCSD is about $146,566. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UCSD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges in California list.
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A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges for the Money in California list means University of California - Davis is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. This large public school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 8,711 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.3 years for the average student at UC Davis to complete their degree, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $35,935 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $155,599 to get a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UC Davis also is in the top 10% of our Best Colleges in California ranking.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #5 in California on this year’s best value ranking. University of California - Irvine is a large public school located in Irvine, California that handed out 8,394 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at UC Irvine graduates in less than 4.2 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $35,363 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine is $148,878. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. On top of its placing in our value rankings, UC Irvine also did well on our Best Colleges in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #6, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 9,627 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at UC Berkeley is 4.2 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $39,376 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley be around $165,773. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UC Berkeley excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges in California list.
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University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 6,327 students in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at UCSB is 4.2 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $36,765 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from UCSB is $154,045. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. In addition to its great value ranking, UCSB is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges in California list.
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California State University Maritime Academy landed the #8 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking. Cal Maritime is a small public school situated in Vallejo, California. It awarded 257 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.3 years for the average student at Cal Maritime to complete their degree, and it costs students who receive no aid about $28,403 per year to attend the school. This means that the average student pays around $121,565 to get a bachelor’s degree from Cal Maritime. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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Thomas Aquinas College did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #9. TAC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Santa Paula, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 83 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At TAC, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.2 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $38,164 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from TAC is $159,144. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in our value rankings, TAC also did well on our Best Colleges in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #10. This large public school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 4,649 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at UCR graduates in less than 4.3 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $35,387 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from UCR is $152,164. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
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California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #11. Cal State Long Beach is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 8,950 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Cal State Long Beach is 5.0 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $25,258 for students who receive no aid. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach is about $125,280. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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San Diego State University did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #12. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8,159 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at SDSU about 4.6 years to graduate, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $30,522 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from SDSU is $140,401. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
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University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #13. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 4,713 students in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.4 years for the average student at UC Santa Cruz to complete their degree, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $37,297. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz is $163,361. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in California list. CSU Pomona is a public institution located in Pomona, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4,810 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at CSU Pomona is 4.9 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $28,542 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from CSU Pomona be around $139,856. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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%.
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California State University - Chico did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #15. Located in Chico, California, the fairly large public school awarded 4,417 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
At Chico State, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.7 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $25,994 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Chico State is $122,432. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
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With a ranking of #16, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 9,996 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Cal State Fullerton is 4.9 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $28,043 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $136,289 to get a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Fullerton. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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With a ranking of #17, University of California - Merced did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. University of California - Merced is a medium-sized public school situated in Merced, California. It awarded 1,442 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at University of California - Merced is 4.5 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $35,973 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the University of California - Merced is $161,519. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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With a ranking of #18, Soka University of America did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. Located in Aliso Viejo, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 118 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
At Soka University, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.0 years, and it costs students who receive no aid about $50,968 per year to attend the school. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Soka University is $206,420. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. On top of its placing in our value rankings, Soka University also did well on our Best Colleges in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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California State University - Monterey Bay did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #19. Seaside, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,953 students in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.7 years for the average student at California State University - Monterey Bay to complete their degree, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $24,778 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from California State University - Monterey Bay is $115,218. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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With a ranking of #20, California State University - Fresno did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. This large public school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 4,921 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At Fresno State, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 5.0 years, and it costs students who receive no aid about $21,716 per year to attend the school. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State is $107,711. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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San Jose State University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in California list. This large public school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 6,826 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at San Jose State is 5.0 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $30,065 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $150,926 to get a bachelor’s degree from San Jose State. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.
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With a ranking of #22, Sonoma State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. Rohnert Park, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 2,444 students in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.6 years for the average student at SSU to complete their degree, and it costs students who receive no aid about $28,268 per year to attend the school. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from SSU is about $130,315. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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California State University - Northridge came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. California State University - Northridge is located in Northridge, California and has a large student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 9,062 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
At California State University - Northridge, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 5.0 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $23,645 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from California State University - Northridge is $117,279. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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California State University - Stanislaus came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Located in Turlock, California, the fairly large public school awarded 2,332 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Cal State Stanislaus about 5.0 years to graduate, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $22,824 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Stanislaus be around $113,664. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.
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California State University - Channel Islands came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Located in Camarillo, California, the medium-sized public school awarded 2,017 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at CSUCI is 4.7 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $28,966. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from CSUCI is $135,561. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- For our state-specific rankings, we use in-state tuition to calculate average cost. For our national and regional rankings, we use a weighted average of in-state and non-resident tuition.
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%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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