by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking is part of that endeavor.
In This Year's Value Report:
Our analysis looked at 87 schools in California to determine which ones have the best value Associate Degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
To determine the value of a school in our Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking, we first add average tuition, fees, and room and board costs (without aid) together. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a good 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 2024 rankings named Golden West College the best value (no aid) school in California for students working on their associate degree. Golden West College is located in Huntington Beach, California and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Golden West College is ranked #2 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,439 a year for undergraduates.
A rank of #2 on our Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list means Saddleback College is a great place for students working on their degree. Saddleback College is a public institution located in Mission Viejo, California.
Saddleback College has the honor of being ranked #6 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,586 a year.
A rank of #3 on our Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list means West Valley College is a great place for students working on their degree. West Valley College is located in Saratoga, California and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
Not only is West Valley College a great value, but it is also ranked #21 in California for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $14,783 a year.
Out of the 87 associate degree schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Pasadena City College landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Pasadena, California, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Pasadena City College is ranked #10 for quality in the state of California. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $17,792 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Foothill College. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list. Foothill College is a fairly large public school located in Los Altos Hills, California.
Foothill College has the honor of being ranked #5 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $21,227 a year for undergraduates.
With a ranking of #6, Santa Rosa Junior College did quite well on the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list. This fairly large public school is located in Santa Rosa, California.
Not only is Santa Rosa Junior College a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in California for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $19,922 a year for undergraduates.
Chaffey College landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Chaffey College is a public institution located in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Not only is Chaffey College a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in California for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,436 a year.
Coastline Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Coastline Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Fountain Valley, California.
Not only is Coastline Community College a great value, but it is also ranked #13 in California for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $17,927 a year.
Orange Coast College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Orange Coast College is located in Costa Mesa, California and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Orange Coast College has the honor of being ranked #27 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $15,922 a year for undergraduates.
Fresno City College did quite well in the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #10. Fresno City College is a public institution located in Fresno, California.
Not only is Fresno City College a great value, but it is also ranked #25 in California for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $16,390 a year for undergraduates.
With a ranking of #11, San Joaquin Delta College did quite well on the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list. Delta is located in Stockton, California and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is San Joaquin Delta College a great value, but it is also ranked #15 in California for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,541 a year.
Los Angeles Harbor College landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. LAHC is a public institution located in Wilmington, California.
Not only is Los Angeles Harbor College a great value, but it is also ranked #16 in California for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,491 a year.
Los Angeles Valley College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. LAVC is located in Valley Glen, California and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Los Angeles Valley College has the honor of being ranked #17 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,491 a year.
Southwestern College did quite well in the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #14. SWC Chula Vista is located in Chula Vista, California and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Southwestern College a great value, but it is also ranked #4 in California for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $23,428 a year for undergraduates.
Cuesta College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Cuesta College is a medium-sized public school situated in San Luis Obispo, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Cuesta College is ranked #20 for quality in the state of California. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,591 a year.
Santa Monica College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list. SMC is a public institution located in Santa Monica, California.
Santa Monica College has the honor of being ranked #45 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $12,702 a year.
Los Angeles Pierce College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list. Located in Woodland Hills, California, the school is a fairly large public institution.
Los Angeles Pierce College has the honor of being ranked #22 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,491 a year.
Sacramento City College landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Located in Sacramento, California, the school is a fairly large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Sacramento City College is ranked #26 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,542 a year for undergraduates.
MiraCosta College did quite well in the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #19. MiraCosta College is a public institution located in Oceanside, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, MiraCosta College is ranked #35 for quality in the state of California. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $16,236 a year.
Reedley College did quite well in the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #20. Reedley College is a public institution located in Reedley, California.
Reedley College has the honor of being ranked #68 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $7,482 a year for undergraduates.
College of the Canyons did quite well in the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #21. College of the Canyons is a fairly large public school located in Santa Clarita, California.
Not only is College of the Canyons a great value, but it is also ranked #28 in California for overall quality. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,669 a year.
The University of Arizona Global Campus came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. UAGC is a large private for-profit school situated in San Diego, California.
The University of Arizona Global Campus has the honor of being ranked #9 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $23,002 a year.
Learn More About Value at The University of Arizona Global Campus
Cerritos College landed the #23 spot on the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Norwalk, California.
Cerritos College has the honor of being ranked #12 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $22,110 a year.
Los Angeles City College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Los Angeles City College is located in Los Angeles, California and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Los Angeles City College is ranked #31 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,491 a year for undergraduates.
With a ranking of #25, Mt. San Antonio College did quite well on the 2024 Best Associate Degree Colleges for the Money in California list. This large public school is located in Walnut, California.
Mt. San Antonio College has the honor of being ranked #30 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,605 a year for undergraduates.
View Best Value Associate Degree Schools (No Aid) Nationwide >
All Majors and Fields of Study >
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.