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Best Value Mathematics Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Mathematics Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

23 Colleges
$14,729 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$37,654 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Mathematics School for You

Mathematics is the #16 most popular major in California with 7,199 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Mathematics Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 23 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for math students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Mathematics Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Mathematics Schools

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo to be the best value school for mathematics students who want to pursue a degree in California. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly 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. While working on their degree, math majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $17,101 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $240.

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

Full Mathematics at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year. After completing their degree, math graduates from CSUN carry an average student debtload of $12,830.

Full Mathematics at California State University - Northridge Report

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best mathematics schools in California. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that math majors at CSULB take out is $13,333.

Read full report on Mathematics at California State University - Long Beach

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 4 spot on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCLA are $13,258 a year. While working on their degree, math majors at UCLA accumulate an average of around $13,000 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UCLA also did well on our Best Mathematics Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Mathematics at University of California - Los Angeles Report

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a great value for mathematics students. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 a year. Math majors at Cal Poly Pomona take out an average of $14,212 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Mathematics at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

$7,218 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Monterey Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mathematics students. Located in the suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUMB are $7,218 per year. While working on their degree, math majors at CSUMB accumulate an average of around $14,791 in student debt.

Read More…

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Sacramento ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Mathematics Schools in California list. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. The average amount in student loans that math majors at Sac State take out is $17,454.

Read More…

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best value schools for mathematics students. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year. Math majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $18,700 in student loans while working on their egree.

UC Berkeley did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Mathematics Schools in California list.

Read full report on Mathematics at University of California - Berkeley

$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - East Bay ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Mathematics Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.

Full Mathematics at California State University - East Bay Report

#10

San Diego State University

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

San Diego State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value mathematics programs. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year. Math majors at SDSU take out an average of $8,619 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Mathematics at San Diego State University

Best Value Mathematics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 425
Oregon 390
Nevada 117
Hawaii 64
Alaska 14

One of 4 majors within the area of study, mathematics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Math

Related Major Annual Graduates
Applied Mathematics 11,107
Statistics 9,979
Other Statistics 644
Applied Statistics 464

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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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