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.
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2023 Best Value Social Work Schools in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Social Work Colleges.
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 large 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.
Full Social Work at California State University - Fresno Report
The excellent programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.
San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Social Work Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Social Work at San Jose State University
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Los Angeles is a great value for social work students. 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. After completing their degree, social work graduates from Cal State LA carry an average student debtload of $12,394.
The excellent programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best social work schools in California. 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.
Full Social Work at California State University - Long Beach Report
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.
Cal State East Bay undergraduate students pay an average of $6,995 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
California State University - Monterey Bay came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in California ranking. 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.
Full Social Work at California State University - Monterey Bay Report
California State University - Sacramento came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Work Schools in California ranking. 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. 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.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Sacramento
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 medium-sized 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 is $11,000.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - San Bernardino
With a ranking of #9, California State University - Stanislaus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social work students. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Stan State are $7,644 a year.
Read full report on Social Work at California State University - Stanislaus
San Francisco State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Social Work Schools in California list. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year.
Best 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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