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Which colleges are most affordable for California residents ? The answer may surprise you.
These rankings of the most affordable colleges for California residents are based on the estimated net price for a "typical" middle class family living in the state of California.
Note: Net price is the actual cost of the school paid by the student and family, after factoring in merit and grant aid from the college federal programs and work study.The net prices displayed in these rankings are College Raptor's estimates.
“Typical” middle class family values used in the Net Price estimates on this page are:
| Rank | Institution | Typical Net Price | Sticker Price | % Savings | Undergraduates | Est. Median SAT | Acceptance Rate | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Institute of Technology | 3400 | 90800 | 0.9626 | 971 | 1564 | 0.0379 | |
| 2 | Stanford University | 3600 | 71800 | 0.9503 | 7,346 | 1542 | 0.038 | |
| 3 | Pomona College | 8500 | 89000 | 0.904 | 1,721 | 1499 | 0.0714 | |
| 4 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38200 | 0.7339 | 31,695 | 1290 | 0.4435 | |
| 5 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 10500 | 26000 | 0.5978 | 22,313 | 1341 | 0.2996 | |
| 6 | California State University-Fresno | 10700 | 19700 | 0.4558 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 7 | California State University-Stanislaus | 11000 | 28600 | 0.6155 | 8,494 | 950 | 0.9558 | |
| 8 | California State University-Channel Islands | 11200 | 25600 | 0.5601 | 5,118 | 975 | 0.9481 | |
| 8 | University of California-San Diego | 11200 | 39700 | 0.718 | 35,442 | 1375 | 0.2856 | |
| 10 | California State University-Northridge | 11500 | 22000 | 0.4772 | 32,846 | 1005 | 0.9176 | |
| 11 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | 11600 | 25200 | 0.5375 | 5,677 | 985 | 0.9301 | |
| 12 | California State University-San Bernardino | 12500 | 30800 | 0.5951 | 15,948 | 1020 | 0.943 | |
| 13 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0.0009 | 25,312 | 1134 | 0.7395 | |
| 14 | Northeastern University Oakland | 12700 | 89900 | 0.8584 | 467 | 1469 | 0.1665 | |
| 15 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13100 | 43000 | 0.6956 | 23,091 | 1354 | 0.382 | |
| 16 | Pitzer College | 13200 | 92500 | 0.8571 | 1,193 | 1279 | 0.2685 | |
| 17 | California State University-Bakersfield | 13300 | 30600 | 0.5661 | 9,897 | 1015 | 0.8416 | |
| 17 | Scripps College | 13300 | 93900 | 0.8578 | 1,103 | 1472 | 0.3988 | |
| 19 | University of California-Merced | 13600 | 42000 | 0.6764 | 8,234 | 1070 | 0.9704 | |
| 20 | California State University-San Marcos | 14000 | 24700 | 0.435 | 15,770 | 990 | 0.9513 | |
| 21 | Sonoma State University | 14100 | 26900 | 0.475 | 4,449 | 1050 | 0.9841 | |
| 22 | California State University-Monterey Bay | 14400 | 31700 | 0.5465 | 7,402 | 1054 | 0.9684 | |
| 23 | California State University-East Bay | 14500 | 30200 | 0.5211 | 9,909 | 940 | 0.9739 | |
| 24 | California State University-Chico | 14800 | 23700 | 0.3746 | 13,599 | 1054 | 0.9107 | |
| 25 | University of California-Irvine | 15100 | 38000 | 0.6031 | 30,260 | 1333 | 0.2895 | |
| 26 | University of Southern California | 15300 | 71400 | 0.786 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 27 | California State University-Sacramento | 15700 | 27700 | 0.4345 | 28,619 | 1015 | 0.9357 | |
| 28 | San Francisco State University | 15800 | 46700 | 0.6611 | 19,444 | 1035 | 0.9644 | |
| 29 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5555 | 33,534 | 1399 | 0.0941 | |
| 30 | California State University-Long Beach | 16400 | 25800 | 0.3645 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 31 | University of California-Riverside | 17000 | 36500 | 0.5341 | 24,034 | 1199 | 0.8609 | |
| 32 | Cal Poly Maritime Academy | 17500 | 34100 | 0.488 | 804 | 1110 | 0.9501 | |
| 33 | Occidental College | 17600 | 88100 | 0.7999 | 1,822 | 1440 | 0.4485 | |
| 34 | University of California-Berkeley | 17800 | 43600 | 0.5926 | 33,513 | 1407 | 0.1145 | |
| 35 | California State University-Fullerton | 17900 | 20600 | 0.1307 | 40,705 | 960 | 0.8811 | |
| 36 | Life Pacific University | 18700 | 46900 | 0.602 | 460 | 1020 | 0.958 | |
| 37 | San Jose State University | 19000 | 40800 | 0.5349 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 38 | Soka University of America | 19100 | 59900 | 0.6811 | 484 | 1412 | 0.4362 | |
| 39 | California State University-Los Angeles | 19400 | 38000 | 0.4896 | 22,077 | 965 | 0.9124 | |
| 40 | Claremont McKenna College | 20300 | 94500 | 0.7851 | 1,378 | 1505 | 0.0944 | |
| 41 | Thomas Aquinas College | 20700 | 43400 | 0.5233 | 369 | 1269 | 0.8 | |
| 42 | Westmont College | 23100 | 76400 | 0.698 | 1,311 | 1315 | 0.8059 | |
| 43 | University of San Diego | 23300 | 83300 | 0.7205 | 6,049 | 1298 | 0.5358 | |
| 44 | San Diego State University | 23600 | 28900 | 0.1846 | 36,196 | 1208 | 0.3741 | |
| 44 | Vanguard University of Southern California | 23600 | 54300 | 0.5656 | 1,923 | 1095 | 0.7415 | |
| 46 | University of the Pacific | 25400 | 69800 | 0.6353 | 3,097 | 1313 | 0.6905 | |
| 47 | University of La Verne | 25800 | 66800 | 0.6136 | 3,052 | 1109 | 0.7117 | |
| 48 | Azusa Pacific University | 25900 | 63000 | 0.589 | 2,759 | 1189 | 0.8842 | |
| 49 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 26700 | 43000 | 0.3798 | 18,194 | 1281 | 0.7273 | |
| 50 | William Jessup University | 27800 | 51700 | 0.4615 | 1,317 | 1140 | 0.9333 | |
| 51 | Harvey Mudd College | 27900 | 93400 | 0.7007 | 913 | 1543 | 0.1233 | |
| 52 | Concordia University-Irvine | 28200 | 72300 | 0.6099 | 1,554 | 1172 | 0.6599 | |
| 53 | Simpson University | 28700 | 58500 | 0.5098 | 822 | 1105 | 0.8603 | |
| 54 | Fresno Pacific University | 30600 | 52200 | 0.4146 | 1,615 | 1075 | 0.6396 | |
| 54 | Saint Mary's College of California | 30600 | 77000 | 0.6028 | 1,955 | 1175 | 0.8856 | |
| 56 | California Baptist University | 30700 | 64800 | 0.5254 | 8,707 | 1024 | 0.8139 | |
| 57 | Biola University | 33300 | 71200 | 0.5325 | 3,553 | 1281 | 0.7817 | |
| 58 | Whittier College | 33500 | 67100 | 0.5006 | 801 | 1258 | 0.8338 | |
| 59 | Woodbury University | 35400 | 66600 | 0.4686 | 725 | 1087 | 0.7143 | |
| 60 | Loyola Marymount University | 35700 | 90800 | 0.6071 | 7,187 | 1347 | 0.4821 | |
| 61 | Point Loma Nazarene University | 36800 | 65400 | 0.4371 | 3,340 | 1263 | 0.8278 | |
| 62 | University of San Francisco | 36900 | 83900 | 0.5605 | 5,171 | 1333 | 0.7176 | |
| 63 | University of Redlands | 38200 | 81400 | 0.5309 | 1,941 | 1233 | 0.8272 | |
| 64 | Hope International University | 38300 | 58600 | 0.3463 | 649 | 995 | 0.6253 | |
| 64 | The Master's University and Seminary | 38300 | 53700 | 0.2862 | 1,908 | 1139 | 0.8402 | |
| 66 | Dominican University of California | 40100 | 69200 | 0.4204 | 1,058 | 0 | 0.521 | |
| 67 | Santa Clara University | 40200 | 84500 | 0.5245 | 6,695 | 1399 | 0.4788 | |
| 68 | Pacific Union College | 41000 | 53000 | 0.2258 | 968 | 1070 | 0.473 | |
| 68 | Providence Christian College | 41000 | 54800 | 0.2517 | 173 | 1110 | 1 | |
| 70 | Pepperdine University | 41100 | 92400 | 0.5551 | 3,459 | 1347 | 0.694 | |
| 71 | Mount Saint Mary's University | 42100 | 79300 | 0.4686 | 1,733 | 1015 | 0.7313 | |
| 72 | California Institute of the Arts | 42200 | 84600 | 0.5013 | 870 | 0 | 0.3234 | |
| 73 | California College of the Arts | 43300 | 87800 | 0.5064 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 74 | La Sierra University | 46900 | 66000 | 0.2883 | 1,266 | 1124 | 0.9069 | |
| 75 | Otis College of Art and Design | 49000 | 78800 | 0.378 | 1,188 | 1335 | 0.8034 | |
| 76 | California Lutheran University | 53500 | 70000 | 0.236 | 2,160 | 1218 | 0.7631 | |
| 77 | Menlo College | 58500 | 86800 | 0.3261 | 764 | 1045 | 0.6847 | |
| 78 | Chapman University | 63200 | 91500 | 0.3095 | 7,630 | 1336 | 0.7206 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.