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Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

23 Colleges
$20,741 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$60,958 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree School for You

Civil Engineering is the #41 most popular major in California with 3,198 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for civil eng students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the civil eng bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Civil Engineering Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best value school in California for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $315.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Civil Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value civil engineering schools in California. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, civil eng majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $19,731 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $189, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Civil Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Chico. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Chico, Chico State is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Chico State are $7,864 a year. The average amount in student loans that civil eng majors at Chico State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $20,741.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at California State University - Chico

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great value for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, civil eng majors at Sac State accumulate an average of around $21,866 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $156.

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California State University - Long Beach ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. Civil Eng majors at CSULB take out an average of $19,717 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Civil Engineering at California State University - Long Beach Report

California State University - Fresno ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Civil Eng majors at Fresno State take out an average of $18,146 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at California State University - Fresno

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, civil eng graduates from SDSU carry an average student debtload of $20,256.

Full Civil Engineering at San Diego State University Report

#9

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree civil engineering programs. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year. Civil Eng majors at SFSU take out an average of $18,614 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Civil Engineering at San Francisco State University Report

With a ranking of #10, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for civil engineering students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State LA are $6,785 a year.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at California State University - Los Angeles

Best Value Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 581
Oregon 327
Nevada 179
Hawaii 98
Alaska 54

One of 40 majors within the area of study, civil engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Civil Eng

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 23 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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