2023 Best Schools in California
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamp that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 152 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Schools in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for students in California. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 5,239 degrees in .
During the early years of their career, Stanford graduates make an average of $100,827 annually.
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Out of the 152 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Keck Graduate Institute landed the # 2 spot on the list. This very small private not-for-profit school is located in Claremont, California, and it awarded 352 degrees in .
On average, students take out $40,952 in loans while pursuing their degree. During the early years of their career, KGI graduates make an average of $88,109 annually.
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Out of the 152 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 3 spot on the list. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 15,913 degrees in .
Degree recipients from UC Berkeley accumulate an average of $40,236 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, UC Berkeley graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $70,847 during the early year of their career.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Santa Clara University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Schools in California list. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Santa Clara, California, and it awarded 2,972 degrees in .
Degree recipients from SCU accumulate an average of $76,785 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.After graduating from SCU, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $79,380 during the early years of their career.
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The excellent programs at Fielding Graduate University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in California. Fielding Graduate University is a very small private not-for-profit school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 440 degrees in .
Once they receive their degree, Fielding graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $70,531 during the early year of their career.
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California Institute of Technology did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in Pasadena, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 617 diplomas to qualifed students in .
During the early years of their career, Caltech graduates make an average of $173,344 annually.
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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, the large public school handed out 5,493 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $38,254 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $61,010 during the early year of their career.
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Claremont Graduate University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in California ranking. Located in Claremont, California, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 611 degrees in .
During the early years of their career, Claremont Graduate University graduates make an average of $68,239 annually.
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University of Southern California ranked #9 on this year’s Best Schools in California list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 19,545 degrees in .
On average, students take out $62,030 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, USC graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $75,677 during the early year of their career.
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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. University of California - Los Angeles is a large public school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 15,048 degrees in .
Degree recipients from UCLA accumulate an average of $40,595 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. During the early years of their career, UCLA graduates make an average of $63,833 annually.
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Santa Rosa Junior College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in California ranking. SRJC is a public institution located in Santa Rosa, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5,550 degrees in .
On average, students take out $20,963 in loans while pursuing their degree.After graduating from SRJC, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $80,047 during the early years of their career.
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Foothill College landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. Los Altos Hills, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,765 students in .
During the early years of their career, Foothill College graduates make an average of $94,152 annually.
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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #13 on this year’s Best Schools in California list. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 8,030 students in .
On average, students take out $36,659 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, UCSB graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $45,488 during the early year of their career.
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Canada College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. This medium-sized public school is located in Redwood City, California, and it awarded 634 degrees in .
During the early years of their career, Canada College graduates make an average of $106,691 annually.
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Brandman University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in California ranking. Located in Irvine, California, the medium-sized public school handed out 2,868 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $10,944 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, Brandman graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $65,898 during the early year of their career.
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Westmont College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students. It came in at #16 on the list. Westmont is a private not-for-profit institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 385 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $63,131 in student loans. During the early years of their career, Westmont graduates make an average of $44,240 annually.
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Santa Barbara City College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in California ranking. Located in Santa Barbara, California, the fairly large public school handed out 3,744 degrees in .
After graduating from SBCC, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $68,184 during the early years of their career.
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University of San Francisco came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in California ranking. USFCA is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 3,040 degrees in .
Degree recipients from USFCA accumulate an average of $68,967 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. During the early years of their career, USFCA graduates make an average of $65,223 annually.
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University of California - Davis landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. Located in Davis, California, the large public school awarded 11,589 diplomas to qualifed students in .
Degree recipients from UC Davis accumulate an average of $36,628 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Once they receive their degree, UC Davis graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $53,749 during the early year of their career.
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Dominican University of California ranked #20 on this year’s Best Schools in California list. Dominican University of California is a small private not-for-profit school located in San Rafael, California that handed out 853 degrees in .
On average, students take out $73,029 in loans while pursuing their degree. Once they receive their degree, DUofC graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $70,752 during the early year of their career.
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Saint Mary’s College of California came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Schools in California ranking. Located in Moraga, California, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 907 degrees in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $62,594 in student loans. Once they receive their degree, SMC graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $59,760 during the early year of their career.
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Loyola Marymount University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 2,868 diplomas to qualifed students in .
By the time they get their degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $85,586 in student loans. During the early years of their career, Loyola Marymount graduates make an average of $52,935 annually.
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Touro University Worldwide landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best programs. TUW is located in Los Alamitos, California and has a small student population. In , this school awarded 773 degrees to qualified students.
After graduating from TUW, students go on to jobs where they make an average of $55,346 during the early years of their career.
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Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey ranked #25 on this year’s Best Schools in California list. Middlebury Institute is located in Monterey, California and has a very small student population. In , this school awarded 364 degrees to qualified students.
Once they receive their degree, Middlebury Institute graduates enter the workforce, making an average salary of $61,375 during the early year of their career.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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