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Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

15 Colleges
$14,365 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,612 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 4,819 degrees and certificates were awarded to social work students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #26 most popular major in the state.

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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 15 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for social work 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 Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Social Work Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California State University - East Bay to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Cal State East Bay is a 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.

Full Social Work at California State University - East Bay Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for social work students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Work at San Jose State University Report

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

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Social Work majors at Fresno State take out an average of $15,342 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - San Bernardino helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social work schools in California. CSUSB is a large public school located in the city of San Bernardino.

CSUSB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,213 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at CSUSB take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,099.

Read full report on Social Work at California State University - San Bernardino

Out of the 15 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Los Angeles landed the # 5 spot on the list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at Cal State LA take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,648.

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California State University - Long Beach ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly 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 social work majors at CSULB take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,000.

Full Social Work at California State University - Long Beach Report

California State University - Sacramento came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. On average, social work graduates from Sac State take out $22,418 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $159.

Full Social Work at California State University - Sacramento Report

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social work students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the 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, social work graduates from SDSU carry an average student debtload of $18,278.

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California State University - Chico did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social work students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Chico, Chico State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Chico State are $7,864 a year. Social Work majors at Chico State take out an average of $19,251 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Social Work at California State University - Chico Report

With a ranking of #10, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, social work majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $15,457 in student debt.

UC Berkeley excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Social Work Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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Best Value Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 678
Oregon 501
Nevada 462
Hawaii 199
Alaska 76

One of 5 majors within the area of study, social work has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 16,905
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 15 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 Army Medicine.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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