2023 Best Schools for the Money (No Aid) in California
165Colleges
$6,570Avg Undergrad Tuition & Fees*
$15,784Avg Room & Board*
It's not easy to decide which school to attend when you have so many options available. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking.
We analyzed 165 schools across California to determine which have the best value programs. To come up with this ranking of the best value schools, we look at factors that are all objective measurements. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
Our Methodology
To determine the value of a school in our Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking, we first add average tuition, fees, and room and board costs (without aid) together.
But, a school that excels in providing value for your money must also be a great school overall as well.
To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Want to see the list of best value schools for families with specific income levels or whether or not aid is being applied? Click on one of the tiles above. You may also want to narrow this list by location to find the best value schools nearest you. Also, you may want to check out our other college rankings.
If you know what major you want to study, check out our list of the best value schools by major. If you're interested in other degree levels, you can view one of the lists below.
United States University tops this year’s ranking as the best value (no aid) school in California for overall quality. Located in San Diego, California, the school is a small private for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, United States University is ranked #53 for quality in the state of California. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $12,019 a year. The average cost without aid for the school is $11,969 per year for graduate students.
Out of the 165 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #2 spot on the list. UCLA is a public institution located 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. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $30,021 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $29,799 a year.
Out of the 165 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Foothill College landed the #3 spot on the list. Foothill College is a fairly large public school located in Los Altos Hills, California.
Not only is Foothill College a great value, but it is also ranked #23 in California for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $21,227 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $19,662 per year for graduate students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Valley College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. West Valley College is a medium-sized public school located in Saratoga, California.
Not only is West Valley College a great value, but it is also ranked #63 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. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $13,293 a year.
Coastline Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in California list. Coastline Community College is a public institution located in Fountain Valley, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Coastline Community College is ranked #43 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $17,927 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $16,757 a year.
With a ranking of #7, Golden West College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. Huntington Beach, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Golden West College is ranked #41 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,439 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $17,253 per year for graduate students.
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in California list. This large public school is located in San Luis Obispo, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is ranked #16 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $26,527 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $27,961 per year for graduate students.
University of California - Berkeley came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Located in Berkeley, California, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of California - Berkeley is ranked #3 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $34,462 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $34,396 a year.
With a ranking of #10, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. CSULB is a large public school situated 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. The average cost without aid for the school is $20,784 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $22,218 per year for graduate students.
University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #11. University of California - San Diego is a large public school located in La Jolla, California.
Not only is University of California - San Diego a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in California for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $30,845 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $29,709 per year for graduate students.
California State University - Northridge landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Located in Northridge, California, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Northridge is ranked #51 for quality in the state of California. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,545 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $19,979 a year.
With a ranking of #13, Santa Rosa Junior College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. SRJC is a public institution located in Santa Rosa, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Santa Rosa Junior College is ranked #45 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $19,922 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $18,594 a year.
Chaffey College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Chaffey College is ranked #57 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,436 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $17,252 per year for graduate students.
With a ranking of #15, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school located in Santa Barbara, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of California - Santa Barbara is ranked #10 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $31,116 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $30,280 a year.
Saddleback College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Saddleback College is a public institution located in Mission Viejo, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Saddleback College is ranked #58 for quality in the state of California. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,586 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $17,254 a year.
California State University - Fresno landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. Fresno State is located in Fresno, California and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Fresno is ranked #68 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $17,411 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,845 per year for graduate students.
Pasadena City College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #18. Located in Pasadena, California, the school is a large public institution.
Not only is Pasadena City College a great value, but it is also ranked #66 in California for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $17,792 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $16,580 a year.
Fielding Graduate University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in California list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Santa Barbara, California.
Not only is Fielding Graduate University 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 $11,000 a year. The average cost without aid for the school is $29,718 per year for graduate students.
University of California - Davis came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California.
Not only is University of California - Davis 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 $31,663 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $30,626 a year.
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #21. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
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 cost without aid for the school is $30,644 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $30,225 a year.
Los Angeles Valley College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #22. Los Angeles Valley College is a fairly large public school located in Valley Glen, California.
Los Angeles Valley College has the honor of being ranked #73 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. The average cost without aid for the school is $18,491 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $17,253 a year.
Los Angeles Pierce College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking, coming in at #23. Pierce College is a fairly large public school situated in Woodland Hills, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Los Angeles Pierce College is ranked #74 for quality in the state of California. The average cost for undergraduates to attend the school if you don’t receive any aid is $18,491 a year. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $17,253 a year.
San Jose State University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. San Jose State is a public institution located in San Jose, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, San Jose State University is ranked #26 for quality in the state of California. The average cost without aid for the school is $25,212 a year for undergraduates. The average cost to attend the school for graduate students if you don’t receive any aid is $26,646 a year.
Santa Monica College landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for the Money in California ranking. This large public school is located in Santa Monica, California.
Not only is Santa Monica College a great value, but it is also ranked #115 in California for overall quality. The average cost without aid for the school is $12,702 a year for undergraduates. The average cost without aid for the school is $11,556 per year for graduate students.
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%.
college factual
