2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Work 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 Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 25 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value 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.
Top 10 Best Social Work Schools
Our analysis found California State University - Fresno to be the best value school for social work students who want to pursue a degree in California. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.
Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, social work graduates from Fresno State take out $11,042 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great value for social work students. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, San Jose State also did well on our Best Social Work Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State LA are $6,785 a year. After completing their degree, social work graduates from Cal State LA carry an average student debtload of $12,394.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at CSULB take out is $12,434.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for social work students. Cal State East Bay is a 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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With a ranking of #6, California State University - Monterey Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Seaside.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUMB are $7,218 per year.
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California State University - Sacramento landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. After completing their degree, social work graduates from Sac State carry an average student debtload of $19,350. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $159.
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California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for social work students. It came in at #8 on the list. CSUSB is a large public school located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSB are $7,213 a year. The average amount in student loans that social work majors at CSUSB take out is $11,000.
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California State University - Stanislaus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in California list. Located in the small suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a large student population.
Stan State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,644 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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San Francisco State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social work programs. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $7,304 per year.
Request InformationBest Value Social Work Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Work Colleges 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 |
More Social Work Rankings in California
Social Work Related Majors for Social Work
One of 5 majors within the area of study, social work has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Social Work
| 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 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 Army Medicine.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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