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 | 3000 | 117400 | 0.9744 | 971 | 1564 | 0.0379 | |
| 2 | Stanford University | 3600 | 1865200 | 0.9981 | 7,346 | 1542 | 0.038 | |
| 3 | Santa Ana College | 4600 | 23100 | 0.8003 | 27,248 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | California State University-Los Angeles | 4900 | 69100 | 0.9295 | 22,077 | 965 | 0.9124 | |
| 5 | California State University-Northridge | 7700 | 22000 | 0.65 | 32,846 | 1005 | 0.9176 | |
| 6 | Pomona College | 8500 | 89300 | 0.9047 | 1,721 | 1499 | 0.0714 | |
| 7 | California State University-East Bay | 8600 | 62600 | 0.8618 | 9,909 | 940 | 0.9739 | |
| 8 | University of California-Berkeley | 9900 | 57500 | 0.8271 | 33,513 | 1407 | 0.1145 | |
| 9 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 50000 | 0.795 | 31,695 | 1290 | 0.4435 | |
| 10 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 10500 | 26000 | 0.5978 | 22,313 | 1341 | 0.2996 | |
| 11 | California State University-Stanislaus | 10700 | 31300 | 0.6589 | 8,494 | 950 | 0.9558 | |
| 12 | California State University-Fresno | 10900 | 19700 | 0.4456 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 13 | University of California-San Diego | 11200 | 45200 | 0.7527 | 35,442 | 1375 | 0.2856 | |
| 14 | California State University-Channel Islands | 11300 | 29100 | 0.6129 | 5,118 | 975 | 0.9481 | |
| 15 | University of California-Merced | 11600 | 46300 | 0.7502 | 8,234 | 1070 | 0.9704 | |
| 16 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | 11700 | 54100 | 0.7842 | 5,677 | 985 | 0.9301 | |
| 16 | San Francisco State University | 11700 | 46700 | 0.7489 | 19,444 | 1035 | 0.9644 | |
| 18 | Northeastern University Oakland | 12600 | 115500 | 0.8906 | 467 | 1469 | 0.1665 | |
| 19 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13000 | 43000 | 0.6979 | 23,091 | 1354 | 0.382 | |
| 20 | Scripps College | 13400 | 106900 | 0.8748 | 1,103 | 1472 | 0.3988 | |
| 21 | Pitzer College | 13600 | 92600 | 0.8529 | 1,193 | 1279 | 0.2685 | |
| 22 | California State University-Bakersfield | 13800 | 57200 | 0.7583 | 9,897 | 1015 | 0.8416 | |
| 23 | California State University-San Marcos | 14000 | 24700 | 0.435 | 15,770 | 990 | 0.9513 | |
| 24 | California State University-San Bernardino | 14100 | 32700 | 0.5689 | 15,948 | 1020 | 0.943 | |
| 25 | University of California-Riverside | 14300 | 118200 | 0.8786 | 24,034 | 1199 | 0.8609 | |
| 26 | California State University-Monterey Bay | 14500 | 31700 | 0.5434 | 7,402 | 1054 | 0.9684 | |
| 26 | Sonoma State University | 14500 | 57600 | 0.7489 | 4,449 | 1050 | 0.9841 | |
| 28 | California State University-Chico | 15000 | 23700 | 0.3661 | 13,599 | 1054 | 0.9107 | |
| 29 | University of California-Irvine | 15100 | 43700 | 0.6548 | 30,260 | 1333 | 0.2895 | |
| 30 | University of Southern California | 15200 | 71400 | 0.7874 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 31 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 16300 | 62800 | 0.7402 | 25,312 | 1134 | 0.7395 | |
| 32 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16400 | 47400 | 0.6546 | 33,534 | 1399 | 0.0941 | |
| 33 | California State University-Long Beach | 17000 | 33300 | 0.4897 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 34 | California State University-Sacramento | 17300 | 35800 | 0.5174 | 28,619 | 1015 | 0.9357 | |
| 35 | Cal Poly Maritime Academy | 17500 | 34100 | 0.488 | 804 | 1110 | 0.9501 | |
| 36 | Occidental College | 17600 | 113600 | 0.8454 | 1,822 | 1440 | 0.4485 | |
| 37 | San Jose State University | 18000 | 40800 | 0.5594 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 38 | California State University-Fullerton | 18300 | 61400 | 0.7017 | 40,705 | 960 | 0.8811 | |
| 39 | Life Pacific University | 18700 | 45900 | 0.5933 | 460 | 1020 | 0.958 | |
| 40 | Soka University of America | 19100 | 77700 | 0.7542 | 484 | 1412 | 0.4362 | |
| 41 | Vanguard University of Southern California | 19200 | 87700 | 0.781 | 1,923 | 1095 | 0.7415 | |
| 42 | Claremont McKenna College | 20700 | 117400 | 0.824 | 1,378 | 1505 | 0.0944 | |
| 43 | University of the Pacific | 21300 | 121200 | 0.8239 | 3,097 | 1313 | 0.6905 | |
| 44 | San Diego State University | 21700 | 28900 | 0.2503 | 36,196 | 1208 | 0.3741 | |
| 45 | California Baptist University | 22400 | 67800 | 0.6697 | 8,707 | 1024 | 0.8139 | |
| 46 | University of San Diego | 22700 | 107500 | 0.789 | 6,049 | 1298 | 0.5358 | |
| 47 | Westmont College | 22800 | 77400 | 0.7047 | 1,311 | 1315 | 0.8059 | |
| 48 | Azusa Pacific University | 24600 | 81100 | 0.6959 | 2,759 | 1189 | 0.8842 | |
| 49 | Thomas Aquinas College | 25100 | 43400 | 0.422 | 369 | 1269 | 0.8 | |
| 49 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 25100 | 43500 | 0.423 | 18,194 | 1281 | 0.7273 | |
| 51 | University of La Verne | 25800 | 89200 | 0.711 | 3,052 | 1109 | 0.7117 | |
| 52 | William Jessup University | 26100 | 66700 | 0.6083 | 1,317 | 1140 | 0.9333 | |
| 53 | Concordia University-Irvine | 27500 | 94100 | 0.7079 | 1,554 | 1172 | 0.6599 | |
| 54 | Harvey Mudd College | 28000 | 120500 | 0.7678 | 913 | 1543 | 0.1233 | |
| 55 | Simpson University | 28600 | 81300 | 0.6474 | 822 | 1105 | 0.8603 | |
| 56 | Fresno Pacific University | 30600 | 52200 | 0.4146 | 1,615 | 1075 | 0.6396 | |
| 56 | Saint Mary's College of California | 30600 | 101600 | 0.6985 | 1,955 | 1175 | 0.8856 | |
| 58 | Woodbury University | 30800 | 86000 | 0.6419 | 725 | 1087 | 0.7143 | |
| 59 | Biola University | 31800 | 71200 | 0.5536 | 3,553 | 1281 | 0.7817 | |
| 60 | University of Redlands | 33700 | 128400 | 0.7378 | 1,941 | 1233 | 0.8272 | |
| 61 | University of San Francisco | 35000 | 83900 | 0.5832 | 5,171 | 1333 | 0.7176 | |
| 62 | Loyola Marymount University | 35300 | 110900 | 0.6815 | 7,187 | 1347 | 0.4821 | |
| 63 | Hope International University | 38300 | 58600 | 0.3463 | 649 | 995 | 0.6253 | |
| 63 | The Master's University and Seminary | 38300 | 53700 | 0.2862 | 1,908 | 1139 | 0.8402 | |
| 65 | Point Loma Nazarene University | 38500 | 85000 | 0.5467 | 3,340 | 1263 | 0.8278 | |
| 66 | Dominican University of California | 40100 | 69200 | 0.4204 | 1,058 | 0 | 0.521 | |
| 67 | Pacific Union College | 40800 | 53000 | 0.2296 | 968 | 1070 | 0.473 | |
| 68 | Providence Christian College | 41000 | 85100 | 0.518 | 173 | 1110 | 1 | |
| 69 | Pepperdine University | 41100 | 123200 | 0.6666 | 3,459 | 1347 | 0.694 | |
| 70 | Mount Saint Mary's University | 42100 | 79300 | 0.4686 | 1,733 | 1015 | 0.7313 | |
| 71 | California Institute of the Arts | 42600 | 124000 | 0.6565 | 870 | 0 | 0.3234 | |
| 72 | Whittier College | 43500 | 78100 | 0.4431 | 801 | 1258 | 0.8338 | |
| 73 | Otis College of Art and Design | 46700 | 102100 | 0.5426 | 1,188 | 1335 | 0.8034 | |
| 74 | La Sierra University | 46800 | 84200 | 0.4443 | 1,266 | 1124 | 0.9069 | |
| 75 | Santa Clara University | 47300 | 107400 | 0.5596 | 6,695 | 1399 | 0.4788 | |
| 76 | California Lutheran University | 53500 | 109800 | 0.513 | 2,160 | 1218 | 0.7631 | |
| 77 | Menlo College | 58500 | 86800 | 0.3261 | 764 | 1045 | 0.6847 | |
| 78 | California College of the Arts | 61200 | 113200 | 0.4597 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 79 | Chapman University | 63100 | 115100 | 0.4517 | 7,630 | 1336 | 0.7206 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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