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Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

33 Colleges
$8,814 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$50,986 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service School for You

With 8,979 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, public administration and social service is the #16 most popular major in California.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 33 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for public administration and social service 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 Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools

#1

San Diego City College

San Diego, CA
$1,144 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named San Diego City College the best value school in California for public administration and social service students. Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego City College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Diego City College are $1,144 per year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at San Diego City College accumulate an average of around $8,012 in student debt.

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#2

Fresno City College

Fresno, CA
$1,304 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 33 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Fresno City College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Fresno City College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

Fresno City College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Fresno City College take out is $5,574.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Fresno City College

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for public administration and social service students. Located in the large 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.

In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in California list.

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$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in California. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at Fresno State take out an average of $11,042 in student loans while working on their egree.

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$7,218 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Monterey Bay. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Seaside.

CSUMB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,218 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at CSUMB accumulate an average of around $16,250 in student debt.

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$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year. On average, public administration and social service graduates from Cal State LA take out $12,394 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - Los Angeles

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Long Beach ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at CSULB take out is $12,434.

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$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #8 on the list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Sac State take out is $19,350. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $159.

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$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at CSUN take out an average of $24,934 in student loans while working on their egree.

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$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - East Bay did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #10 on the list. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

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

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Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,252
Oregon 832
Hawaii 396
Nevada 610
Alaska 121

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Public Administration 16,905
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 73,813
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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