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Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

30 Colleges
$12,261 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$83,119 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Electrical Engineering School for You

Electrical Engineering is the #27 most popular major in California with 4,695 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 30 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for EE students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California

Check out the EE programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Electrical Engineering Schools

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best value school in California for electrical engineering students. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 per year. The average amount in student loans that EE majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out is $22,591. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $454.

In addition to its great value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list.

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

$7,864 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Chico landed the # 2 spot on the list. Chico State is a large public school located in the midsize city of Chico.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Chico State are $7,864 per year.

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

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 Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 4 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year. EE majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $13,025 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $348, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

UC Berkeley also made our Best Electrical Engineering Schools in California list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best electrical engineering schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year. While working on their degree, EE majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $23,500 in student debt.

Full Electrical Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fresno ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year. On average, EE graduates from Fresno State take out $18,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for electrical engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, EE graduates from CSULB take out $20,035 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Electrical Engineering at California State University - Long Beach Report

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

San Diego State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value electrical engineering programs. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year. EE majors at SDSU take out an average of $17,062 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Electrical Engineering at San Diego State University Report

#9

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA
$7,988 Average Tuition & Fees

Sonoma State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for electrical engineering students. It came in at #9 on the list. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.

SSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,988 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Electrical Engineering at Sonoma State University Report

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Sacramento came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Electrical Engineering Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. While working on their degree, EE majors at Sac State accumulate an average of around $20,250 in student debt.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at California State University - Sacramento

Best Value Electrical Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 842
Oregon 359
Nevada 105
Hawaii 69
Alaska 32

Electrical Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Chemical Engineering 12,917
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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 NASA.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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