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Best Value Public Administration Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Public Administration Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

24 Colleges
$16,929 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,932 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration School for You

In 2020-2021, 1,883 degrees and certificates were awarded to public administration students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #58 most popular major in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public Administration Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 24 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for public admin students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Public Administration Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Administration Colleges.

Top 10 Best Public Administration Schools

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for public administration students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

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

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public Administration Schools in California list.

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$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 24 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 2 spot on the list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, public admin majors at CSUN accumulate an average of around $37,500 in student debt.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Northridge

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Administration Schools in California list. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Fresno State are $6,653 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Fresno

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great value for public administration students. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Sacramento

$7,579 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 24 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Bakersfield landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public school with a large student population.

CSUB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,579 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Long Beach ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Long Beach Report

#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$7,304 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, San Francisco State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - East Bay came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Administration Schools in California ranking. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

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

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$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Los Angeles came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Administration Schools in California ranking. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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

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$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fullerton did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public administration students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year. After completing their degree, public admin graduates from Cal State Fullerton carry an average student debtload of $12,882.

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Best Value Public Administration Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 297
Oregon 117
Nevada 78
Hawaii 186
Alaska 34

Public Administration is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 24 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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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