Best Value Colleges & Universities in California by Academic Quality per Dollar

Best Value Colleges in California by Academic Quality per Dollar

These are the California schools which appear on CollegeCalc's Best Value Colleges in America ranking and represent the colleges providing the finest education balanced against an affordable average net price. The best value in California ranking goes to Stanford University with a 99th percentile national academic rank for a comparatively affordable $20,023 average net price.

Academic Rating is a CollegeCalc rating of a college's overall academics and effectiveness. The score ranges from zero to one hundred, with fifty being the median for all eligible colleges. Dollar value is a measure of a school's academic rating compared with the average price paid by students. Colleges which are ranked "n/a" didn't report sufficient data to formulate a score. Learn more about our rating methodology.

All price data are reprinted from the U.S. Department of Education's 2020/2021 IPEDS Survey and reflect reported costs for the 2020/2021 academic year.

California's Best Value Colleges by Academic Quality per Dollar
College	Net Price	Rating	Value
#1 Stanford University Stanford, Private Not For Profit	$20,023	99	99
#2 Claremont McKenna College Claremont, Private Not For Profit	$22,004	95	98
#3 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, Private Not For Profit	$26,591	98	98
#4 University of California Irvine Irvine, Public Not For Profit	$13,106	81	95
#5 University of California San Diego La Jolla, Public Not For Profit	$15,222	82	95
#6 University of California Davis Davis, Public Not For Profit	$17,026	81	94
#7 University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, Public Not For Profit	$17,223	79	94
#8 University of California Berkeley Berkeley, Public Not For Profit	$19,329	86	94
#9 University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, Public Not For Profit	$16,474	86	93
#10 University of Southern California Los Angeles, Private Not For Profit	$39,759	92	89
#11 University of California Riverside Riverside, Public Not For Profit	$11,948	67	88
#12 Westmont College Santa Barbara, Private Not For Profit	$32,418	74	82
#13 Occidental College Los Angeles, Private Not For Profit	$41,102	85	80
#14 University of the Pacific Stockton, Private Not For Profit	$32,780	75	81
#15 University of Redlands Redlands, Private Not For Profit	$30,240	67	79
#16 University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, Public Not For Profit	$17,842	67	76
#17 Chapman University Orange, Private Not For Profit	$44,327	80	57
#18 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, Private Not For Profit	$48,284	87	56
#19 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, Public Not For Profit	$20,491	75	52
#20 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, Private Not For Profit	$48,758	86	51

California Academic Quality per Dollar Ranking

Best Value Colleges in California by Academic Quality per Dollar