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Best Value Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

47 Colleges
$9,099 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$47,696 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Economics Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 10,510 degrees and certificates were awarded to economics students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #12 most popular major in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 47 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for economics students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Top 10 Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California State University - Channel Islands to be the best value school for economics students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. CSUCI is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Camarillo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUCI are $6,817 a year. The average amount in student loans that economics majors at CSUCI take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $15,851.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for economics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 a year. Economics majors at Cal State East Bay take out an average of $17,616 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Economics at California State University - East Bay Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, economics majors at Fresno State accumulate an average of around $14,708 in student debt.

Full Economics at California State University - Fresno Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

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

Full Economics at San Jose State University Report

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for economics students working on their bachelor’s degree. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, economics graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $13,817. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $378.

UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Full Economics at University of California - Berkeley Report

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With a ranking of #6, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on this year’s best value schools for economics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $367, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

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California State University - Fullerton landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree economics programs. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year. The average amount in student loans that economics majors at Cal State Fullerton take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $14,363.

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California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, economics graduates from Sac State carry an average student debtload of $19,610.

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#9

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year. Economics majors at SDSU take out an average of $16,928 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 $221.

Full Economics at San Diego State University Report

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With a ranking of #10, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on this year’s best value schools for economics students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, economics majors at CSULB accumulate an average of around $16,335 in student debt.

Full Economics at California State University - Long Beach Report

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Best Value Economics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Economics Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 713
Oregon 596
Nevada 147
Hawaii 92
Alaska 17

One of 12 majors within the area of study, economics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415

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 pixabay.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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