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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 | University of California-Los Angeles | 0 | 36700 | 1 | 34,398 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
2 | Stanford University | 4600 | 71500 | 0.9354 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
3 | California Institute of Technology | 6300 | 90300 | 0.9305 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
4 | Pomona College | 8900 | 88500 | 0.8998 | 1,766 | 1520 | 0.0709 | |
5 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38000 | 0.7303 | 31,082 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
6 | California State University-Stanislaus | 10400 | 29100 | 0.644 | 8,455 | 950 | 0.9814 | |
7 | California State University-Fresno | 10800 | 19700 | 0.4536 | 21,430 | 995 | 0.9638 | |
8 | University of California-San Diego | 10900 | 34100 | 0.6794 | 34,808 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
9 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 11200 | 26300 | 0.5727 | 21,917 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
10 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 11500 | 12600 | 0.0906 | 25,194 | 1134 | 0.737 | |
11 | California State University-Northridge | 11600 | 23200 | 0.4976 | 32,352 | 1005 | 0.9219 | |
12 | Harvey Mudd College | 12100 | 93100 | 0.8697 | 921 | 1528 | 0.1266 | |
13 | California State University-Channel Islands | 12700 | 48400 | 0.738 | 5,290 | 975 | 0.9306 | |
14 | University of California-Merced | 13100 | 40400 | 0.6763 | 8,161 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
15 | California State University-Bakersfield | 13200 | 28300 | 0.5319 | 8,865 | 1050 | 0.8508 | |
16 | California State University-San Bernardino | 13700 | 25200 | 0.4578 | 14,993 | 920 | 0.9318 | |
16 | California State University-San Marcos | 13700 | 24700 | 0.4472 | 14,933 | 970 | 0.951 | |
16 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13700 | 39000 | 0.6498 | 22,672 | 1354 | 0.3296 | |
19 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | 13900 | 25200 | 0.4468 | 5,376 | 1138 | 0.9198 | |
20 | University of California-Berkeley | 14400 | 43600 | 0.67 | 32,429 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
21 | Pitzer College | 14500 | 88200 | 0.8358 | 1,158 | 1279 | 0.2516 | |
22 | Claremont McKenna College | 14800 | 105100 | 0.8594 | 1,390 | 1507 | 0.0959 | |
23 | California State University-Chico | 14900 | 23700 | 0.3732 | 13,337 | 1117 | 0.9158 | |
23 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 14900 | 38100 | 0.6077 | 16,946 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
25 | California State University-Long Beach | 15100 | 25800 | 0.4164 | 36,021 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
26 | California State University-Monterey Bay | 15300 | 30800 | 0.5018 | 6,875 | 1053 | 0.9734 | |
27 | California State University-East Bay | 15800 | 29800 | 0.4681 | 10,562 | 940 | 0.9681 | |
27 | University of California-Riverside | 15800 | 36500 | 0.5676 | 21,954 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
29 | California State University Maritime Academy | 15900 | 37200 | 0.5739 | 761 | 1069 | 0.9873 | |
30 | Scripps College | 16000 | 89900 | 0.8224 | 1,117 | 1475 | 0.3829 | |
30 | Sonoma State University | 16000 | 26900 | 0.4039 | 5,412 | 1095 | 0.9473 | |
32 | California State University-Sacramento | 16100 | 27400 | 0.4111 | 28,139 | 1015 | 0.9343 | |
33 | California State University-Fullerton | 16300 | 20600 | 0.2062 | 39,697 | 0 | 0.9052 | |
33 | San Francisco State University | 16300 | 33400 | 0.5127 | 20,756 | 1035 | 0.9615 | |
33 | University of California-Irvine | 16300 | 35300 | 0.5371 | 29,799 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
36 | Pacific Union College | 16900 | 53000 | 0.6807 | 910 | 1090 | 0.4248 | |
37 | California State University-Los Angeles | 17700 | 39400 | 0.5499 | 19,290 | 965 | 0.9125 | |
38 | San Jose State University | 18400 | 30000 | 0.3876 | 27,902 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
39 | University of Southern California | 18800 | 71400 | 0.7361 | 21,023 | 1485 | 0.1002 | |
40 | Vanguard University of Southern California | 19900 | 54300 | 0.6344 | 1,964 | 1069 | 0.6479 | |
41 | Thomas Aquinas College | 20100 | 40000 | 0.4965 | 372 | 1337 | 0.7976 | |
42 | Soka University of America | 20500 | 59900 | 0.6583 | 476 | 1324 | 0.6952 | |
43 | Azusa Pacific University | 22300 | 63100 | 0.647 | 2,978 | 1138 | 0.7959 | |
44 | Life Pacific University | 22600 | 45900 | 0.5084 | 396 | 1055 | 0.9395 | |
45 | San Diego State University | 23600 | 28100 | 0.1616 | 34,805 | 1208 | 0.3598 | |
46 | Providence Christian College | 24000 | 61200 | 0.6083 | 147 | 1110 | 0.9252 | |
47 | Occidental College | 24200 | 87400 | 0.7225 | 1,881 | 1447 | 0.4417 | |
48 | La Sierra University | 25100 | 53800 | 0.534 | 1,244 | 1015 | 0.933 | |
49 | Westmont College | 26000 | 96600 | 0.7313 | 1,311 | 1324 | 0.7704 | |
50 | University of the Pacific | 26400 | 69800 | 0.6212 | 3,210 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
51 | William Jessup University | 26800 | 51600 | 0.4797 | 1,056 | 1178 | 0.7682 | |
52 | California Baptist University | 26900 | 64600 | 0.5839 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
53 | Concordia University-Irvine | 27300 | 64500 | 0.5773 | 1,465 | 1172 | 0.5986 | |
54 | Dominican University of California | 28900 | 69200 | 0.5823 | 1,120 | 1225 | 0.8392 | |
55 | Fresno Pacific University | 30000 | 52200 | 0.4249 | 1,616 | 1075 | 0.5752 | |
56 | Biola University | 30600 | 52500 | 0.4164 | 3,481 | 1268 | 0.7482 | |
56 | Saint Mary's College of California | 30600 | 73600 | 0.5837 | 1,949 | 1175 | 0.8856 | |
58 | University of Redlands | 31000 | 80100 | 0.6136 | 2,045 | 1226 | 0.8271 | |
59 | Woodbury University | 31200 | 66600 | 0.5322 | 825 | 1087 | 0.7287 | |
60 | California Lutheran University | 32200 | 64900 | 0.5031 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
61 | Loyola Marymount University | 33100 | 89500 | 0.6297 | 7,273 | 1353 | 0.4508 | |
62 | Hope International University | 33700 | 51100 | 0.3413 | 554 | 1070 | 0.3298 | |
63 | Point Loma Nazarene University | 35900 | 63900 | 0.4373 | 3,246 | 1296 | 0.8367 | |
64 | California Institute of the Arts | 36900 | 77300 | 0.5231 | 918 | 0 | 0.2595 | |
65 | The Master's University and Seminary | 37200 | 53700 | 0.3075 | 1,914 | 1110 | 0.7589 | |
66 | University of San Francisco | 40700 | 83400 | 0.5114 | 5,321 | 1292 | 0.6171 | |
67 | Mount Saint Mary's University | 41100 | 76300 | 0.4622 | 1,733 | 1015 | 0.7313 | |
68 | Pepperdine University | 44200 | 89600 | 0.5069 | 3,553 | 1378 | 0.6286 | |
68 | University of San Diego | 44200 | 83300 | 0.4697 | 5,851 | 1298 | 0.5238 | |
70 | Simpson University | 50500 | 54500 | 0.0742 | 755 | 1075 | 0.9903 | |
71 | Menlo College | 50900 | 80700 | 0.3695 | 831 | 1045 | 0.6781 | |
72 | Whittier College | 51000 | 67100 | 0.2405 | 733 | 1160 | 0.835 | |
73 | Otis College of Art and Design | 51500 | 78800 | 0.3469 | 1,224 | 1055 | 0.8176 | |
74 | Santa Clara University | 52700 | 82900 | 0.3646 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
75 | Chapman University | 57200 | 86200 | 0.336 | 7,707 | 1357 | 0.6543 | |
76 | University of La Verne | 62100 | 66500 | 0.0654 | 2,414 | 1123 | 0.4847 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.