Spike Rankings 2027
Best Value Colleges in California
Where what you pay buys the most: strong earnings, low cost, students who finish, and little debt. How Spike ranks
How this list is ranked.
Months of pay to cover four years 45%, graduation 25%, debt 15%, average net price 15%.
32 colleges qualify from Spike’s guide of 233. This page covers the California colleges in the guide, not every college in the state. Colleges without enough reported data are left out.
Guide updated . Data snapshot: . Sources and data years.
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32 colleges
Number 1: California Institute of Technology- $8,509 average net price
- $167k after 10 years
- 2 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 2: Stanford University- $12,307 average net price
- $125k after 10 years
- 5 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 3: University of California-Berkeley- $14,538 average net price
- $100k after 10 years
- 7 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 4: University of California-Los Angeles- $14,659 average net price
- $89k after 10 years
- 8 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 5: University of California-San Diego- $14,794 average net price
- $96k after 10 years
- 7 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 6: University of California-Irvine- $13,866 average net price
- $83k after 10 years
- 8 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 7: University of California-Davis- $14,318 average net price
- $87k after 10 years
- 8 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 8: California State University-Fullerton- $5,115 average net price
- $69k after 10 years
- 4 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 9: California State University-Long Beach- $9,426 average net price
- $70k after 10 years
- 7 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 10: University of California-Santa Barbara- $16,807 average net price
- $83k after 10 years
- 10 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 11: California State University-Fresno- $5,418 average net price
- $63k after 10 years
- 4 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 12: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo- $18,832 average net price
- $96k after 10 years
- 9 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 13: San Diego State University- $13,243 average net price
- $73k after 10 years
- 9 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 14: University of California-Riverside- $12,672 average net price
- $73k after 10 years
- 8 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 15: California State University-Northridge- $6,346 average net price
- $64k after 10 years
- 5 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 16: San Francisco State University- $9,803 average net price
- $73k after 10 years
- 6 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 17: San Jose State University- $14,241 average net price
- $83k after 10 years
- 8 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 18: California State University-Sacramento- $11,186 average net price
- $69k after 10 years
- 8 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 19: University of Southern California- $33,056 average net price
- $103k after 10 years
- 15 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 20: University of the Pacific- $24,186 average net price
- $88k after 10 years
- 13 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 21: Santa Clara University- $50,570 average net price
- $117k after 10 years
- 21 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 22: California Lutheran University- $26,445 average net price
- $78k after 10 years
- 16 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 23: Pitzer College- $36,135 average net price
- $72k after 10 years
- 24 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 24: University of San Francisco- $30,496 average net price
- $95k after 10 years
- 15 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 25: Whittier College- $24,940 average net price
- $68k after 10 years
- 18 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 26: Chapman University- $46,708 average net price
- $81k after 10 years
- 28 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 27: University of Redlands- $30,924 average net price
- $81k after 10 years
- 18 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 28: Occidental College- $37,470 average net price
- $80k after 10 years
- 23 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 29: Loyola Marymount University- $50,518 average net price
- $86k after 10 years
- 28 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 30: Pepperdine University- $48,065 average net price
- $89k after 10 years
- 26 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 31: Art Center College of Design- $48,389 average net price
- $76k after 10 years
- 31 months of pay covers 4 years
Number 32: California Institute of the Arts- $49,996 average net price
- $45k after 10 years
- 53 months of pay covers 4 years
How to use this ranking.
Compare your aid offers with graduation rates and typical debt. A college with a higher listed price may cost your family less after aid.
What the rank does not tell you.
The payback measure compares four years of average net price with median pay. It does not subtract living costs or taxes, and it is not a forecast of how quickly you will repay debt.
Spike ranks the colleges in its guide, not every college in America. Read the full method and its limits, or compare colleges by your own priorities.
What Spike does with this
A ranking is where to start looking.
Spike checks each college against your grades, budget and goals. Then it helps you build a list that holds up.
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