by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Top California Colleges ranking.
We analyzed 161 colleges and universities across California to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors - such as graduation rate, post graduate earnings, and a school's average expenditure per student - to make this determination.
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 value 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Stanford University tops this year’s ranking as the best school in California for overall quality.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Stanford is $124,080 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in California list means University of Southern California is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 79%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from USC make an average of $92,498 per year during the early years of their career.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in California list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 76%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley make an average of $92,446 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in California list.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 81%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $82,511 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in California list means Harvey Mudd College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $138,687 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #6, Claremont McKenna College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in California list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. During the early years of their career, graduates from Claremont McKenna make an average of $104,736 a year.
University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #7 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in California ranking.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UCSB make an average of $74,915 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #8, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in California list.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $84,943 during the early years of their career..
Santa Clara University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $109,183 during the early years of their career..
University of California - Davis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis is $80,838 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Pepperdine University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in California list.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 80%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Pepperdine make an average of $82,939 a year.
University of California - Irvine came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine make an average of $80,735 per year during the early years of their career.
University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz make an average of $68,396 per year during the early years of their career.
Foothill College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #14.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Foothill College make an average of $57,072 a year.
With a ranking of #15, Southwestern College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in California list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from SWC Chula Vista go into careers with an average salary of $40,060 during the early years of their career.
Santa Rosa Junior College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from SRJC is $47,224 during the early years of their career.
Thomas Aquinas College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from TAC go into careers with an average salary of $55,619 during the early years of their career.
Azusa Pacific University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #18.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific is $66,677 during the early years of their career.
Irvine Valley College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Irvine Valley College make an average of $49,156 per year during the early years of their career.
Saint Mary’s College of California ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges in California list.
The impressive student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. During the early years of their career, graduates from SMC make an average of $78,812 a year.
University of San Francisco did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #21.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from USFCA go into careers with an average salary of $89,812 during the early years of their career.
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #22 on this year’s Best Colleges in California list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo make an average of $90,768 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Golden Gate University - San Francisco came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in California ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Golden Gate University - San Francisco make an average of $87,434 a year.
With a ranking of #24, Chapman University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in California list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Chapman make an average of $70,070 per year during the early years of their career.
San Diego State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in California ranking, coming in at #25.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from SDSU make an average of $64,909 per year during the early years of their career.
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These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Mount Saint Mary’s University | Los Angeles, CA |
| 27 | Cosumnes River College | Sacramento, CA |
| 28 | University of California - Riverside | Riverside, CA |
| 29 | Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles, CA |
| 30 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 31 | City College of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA |
| 32 | Modesto Junior College | Modesto, CA |
| 33 | San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia | Visalia, CA |
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.