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 | Stanford University | 3700 | 71300 | 0.948 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology | 4100 | 90800 | 0.9549 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 3 | Santa Ana College | 4600 | 23100 | 0.8003 | 26,073 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Pomona College | 5600 | 89000 | 0.9366 | 1,766 | 1520 | 0.0709 | |
| 5 | California State University-Northridge | 8800 | 22400 | 0.6049 | 32,499 | 1005 | 0.881 | |
| 6 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38600 | 0.7368 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 7 | University of California-San Diego | 10800 | 39700 | 0.7281 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
| 8 | California State University-Stanislaus | 11400 | 46100 | 0.7516 | 8,455 | 950 | 0.9814 | |
| 9 | California State University-Fresno | 11700 | 19700 | 0.4046 | 21,430 | 995 | 0.9638 | |
| 9 | University of California-Merced | 11700 | 39400 | 0.7035 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 11 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 11800 | 43000 | 0.7258 | 23,181 | 1354 | 0.3296 | |
| 12 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 12200 | 26200 | 0.5331 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 13 | California State University-Channel Islands | 12300 | 25600 | 0.517 | 5,290 | 975 | 0.9306 | |
| 14 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0.0009 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.737 | |
| 15 | Pitzer College | 13400 | 92500 | 0.8549 | 1,242 | 1279 | 0.2516 | |
| 15 | Scripps College | 13400 | 93900 | 0.8567 | 1,117 | 1475 | 0.3829 | |
| 17 | University of California-Riverside | 13700 | 36500 | 0.6244 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 18 | Claremont McKenna College | 13900 | 93100 | 0.8509 | 1,390 | 1507 | 0.0959 | |
| 19 | California State University-Bakersfield | 14000 | 50800 | 0.7252 | 8,865 | 1050 | 0.8508 | |
| 20 | California State University-San Bernardino | 14100 | 43900 | 0.6796 | 14,993 | 920 | 0.9318 | |
| 21 | California State University-San Marcos | 14500 | 24700 | 0.4148 | 14,977 | 970 | 0.951 | |
| 22 | California State University-Chico | 14700 | 23700 | 0.3787 | 13,392 | 1117 | 0.9158 | |
| 23 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | 14800 | 25200 | 0.4103 | 5,474 | 1138 | 0.9198 | |
| 24 | University of California-Irvine | 15200 | 36300 | 0.5813 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 25 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 15400 | 39100 | 0.6046 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 26 | California State University-Long Beach | 16000 | 25800 | 0.3801 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 26 | California State University-Monterey Bay | 16000 | 31700 | 0.4959 | 6,910 | 1053 | 0.9734 | |
| 26 | University of Southern California | 16000 | 71400 | 0.7762 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 29 | California State University-Sacramento | 16100 | 27700 | 0.42 | 28,226 | 1015 | 0.9343 | |
| 30 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5556 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 31 | Sonoma State University | 16400 | 26900 | 0.3893 | 5,412 | 1095 | 0.9473 | |
| 32 | California State University Maritime Academy | 16500 | 53100 | 0.6896 | 761 | 1069 | 0.9873 | |
| 32 | University of California-Berkeley | 16500 | 43600 | 0.6224 | 33,469 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
| 34 | California State University-East Bay | 17400 | 30200 | 0.425 | 10,562 | 940 | 0.9681 | |
| 34 | San Francisco State University | 17400 | 55500 | 0.6867 | 20,756 | 1035 | 0.9615 | |
| 34 | Vanguard University of Southern California | 17400 | 54300 | 0.6798 | 1,964 | 1069 | 0.6479 | |
| 37 | Harvey Mudd College | 17500 | 93400 | 0.8121 | 921 | 1528 | 0.1266 | |
| 37 | Occidental College | 17500 | 88100 | 0.8011 | 1,881 | 1447 | 0.4417 | |
| 39 | California State University-Fullerton | 18100 | 20600 | 0.1231 | 38,597 | 0 | 0.9052 | |
| 40 | Pacific Union College | 18200 | 53000 | 0.6563 | 910 | 1070 | 0.4248 | |
| 41 | Thomas Aquinas College | 18400 | 43400 | 0.5762 | 372 | 1337 | 0.7976 | |
| 42 | California State University-Los Angeles | 18900 | 59200 | 0.6812 | 19,354 | 965 | 0.9125 | |
| 43 | Soka University of America | 19100 | 59900 | 0.6812 | 469 | 1405 | 0.4362 | |
| 44 | San Jose State University | 19500 | 33700 | 0.4214 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 45 | Azusa Pacific University | 21500 | 63000 | 0.6589 | 2,996 | 1138 | 0.7959 | |
| 46 | Life Pacific University | 22900 | 50400 | 0.5443 | 396 | 1055 | 0.9395 | |
| 46 | San Diego State University | 22900 | 28900 | 0.2089 | 34,637 | 1208 | 0.3598 | |
| 48 | University of San Diego | 23200 | 83300 | 0.7217 | 5,851 | 1298 | 0.5238 | |
| 49 | University of the Pacific | 23300 | 69800 | 0.6654 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 50 | Providence Christian College | 24100 | 73000 | 0.6695 | 147 | 1110 | 0.9252 | |
| 51 | La Sierra University | 25000 | 70200 | 0.6438 | 1,244 | 1015 | 0.933 | |
| 52 | William Jessup University | 25400 | 51700 | 0.5079 | 1,056 | 1178 | 0.7682 | |
| 53 | University of Redlands | 25600 | 81400 | 0.6856 | 2,045 | 1226 | 0.8271 | |
| 54 | Westmont College | 25900 | 76400 | 0.6614 | 1,311 | 1324 | 0.7704 | |
| 55 | Concordia University-Irvine | 26800 | 80600 | 0.6679 | 1,554 | 1172 | 0.6599 | |
| 56 | Woodbury University | 27500 | 66600 | 0.5871 | 825 | 1087 | 0.7287 | |
| 57 | Biola University | 28800 | 71200 | 0.5958 | 3,481 | 1268 | 0.7482 | |
| 58 | Simpson University | 29300 | 70700 | 0.5858 | 755 | 1075 | 0.9903 | |
| 59 | Dominican University of California | 29600 | 69200 | 0.5722 | 1,127 | 1225 | 0.8392 | |
| 60 | Saint Mary's College of California | 30600 | 77000 | 0.6028 | 1,955 | 1175 | 0.8856 | |
| 61 | Fresno Pacific University | 30700 | 52200 | 0.4116 | 1,616 | 1075 | 0.5752 | |
| 62 | California Baptist University | 30900 | 64800 | 0.5223 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
| 63 | Loyola Marymount University | 31100 | 90800 | 0.6578 | 7,273 | 1353 | 0.4508 | |
| 64 | Hope International University | 33900 | 69600 | 0.5129 | 564 | 1070 | 0.3298 | |
| 65 | Whittier College | 35800 | 67100 | 0.4664 | 767 | 1229 | 0.835 | |
| 66 | Point Loma Nazarene University | 36100 | 65400 | 0.4484 | 3,246 | 1296 | 0.8367 | |
| 67 | California Institute of the Arts | 37100 | 84600 | 0.5616 | 918 | 0 | 0.2595 | |
| 68 | The Master's University and Seminary | 38300 | 53700 | 0.2862 | 1,914 | 1110 | 0.7589 | |
| 69 | University of San Francisco | 38500 | 83900 | 0.5414 | 5,321 | 1292 | 0.6171 | |
| 70 | Pepperdine University | 40300 | 90100 | 0.5527 | 3,553 | 1378 | 0.6286 | |
| 71 | Mount Saint Mary's University | 42100 | 79300 | 0.4686 | 1,733 | 1015 | 0.7313 | |
| 72 | California College of the Arts | 42600 | 87800 | 0.5143 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 73 | Santa Clara University | 51900 | 84500 | 0.386 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 74 | Otis College of Art and Design | 52200 | 78800 | 0.3375 | 1,224 | 1235 | 0.8176 | |
| 75 | California Lutheran University | 54200 | 70000 | 0.226 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 76 | University of La Verne | 57300 | 66800 | 0.1423 | 2,414 | 1123 | 0.4848 | |
| 77 | Menlo College | 58600 | 86800 | 0.3243 | 831 | 1045 | 0.6781 | |
| 78 | Chapman University | 61900 | 87200 | 0.2904 | 7,713 | 1357 | 0.6543 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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