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2024 Best Business Administration & Management Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

66 Colleges in California
30,720 Bachelor's Degrees
$45,180 Avg Early-Career Salary
Business Administration & Management is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 66 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for business administration & management students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 30,720 bachelor's degrees in business administration & management during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Business Administration & Management School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Business Administration & Management Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of business administration & management for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality business administration program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for business administration & management students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Business Administration Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Business Administration & Management Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Business Administration & Management in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in business administration & management.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Business Administration

1
1,035 Annual Graduates
$62,573 Median Starting Salary
$17,375 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in business administration & management. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California earn $17,393 more than the typical business administration grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from University of Southern California

2
392 Annual Graduates
$74,034 Median Starting Salary
$12,195 Median Student Debt

University of California - Berkeley is a good decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in business administration & management. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Business Administration & Management bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of approximately $28,854 above the average income of business administration & management graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from University of California - Berkeley

3
766 Annual Graduates
$63,640 Median Starting Salary
$17,000 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in business administration & management needs to take a look at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Bachelor's recipients from the business administration & management degree program at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo earn $18,460 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

4
1,894 Annual Graduates
$52,247 Median Starting Salary
$35,861 Median Student Debt

The University of Arizona Global Campus is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in business administration & management. Located in the large city of San Diego, UAGC is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those business administration & management students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Arizona Global Campus receive $7,067 more than the typical business administration student.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from The University of Arizona Global Campus

5
1,723 Annual Graduates
$44,617 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduating, business administration bachelor's recipients generally make around $44,617 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from San Jose State University

6
132 Annual Graduates
$67,879 Median Starting Salary
$33,968 Median Student Debt

Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco.

Bachelor's recipients from the business administration & management program at Golden Gate University - San Francisco get $22,699 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from Golden Gate University - San Francisco

7
174 Annual Graduates
$53,559 Median Starting Salary
$28,000 Median Student Debt

Pepperdine is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Malibu.

Those business administration & management students who get their bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University receive $8,379 more than the average business administration graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from Pepperdine University

8
471 Annual Graduates
$47,455 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Business Administration & Management bachelor's degree recipients from Chapman University receive an earnings boost of around $2,275 above the typical earnings of business administration & management graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from Chapman University

9
379 Annual Graduates
$47,857 Median Starting Salary
$13,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the business administration & management program at University of California - Irvine get $2,677 above the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from University of California - Irvine

10
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
126 Annual Graduates
$61,400 Median Starting Salary
$24,602 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the business administration & management program at University of San Francisco make $16,220 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in business administration & management from University of San Francisco

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Business Administration & Management Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
11 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
12 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
13 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
14 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
15 National University San Diego, CA
16 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA

Best Business Administration & Management Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Business Administration & Management Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 2,033
Oregon 185 1,363
Nevada 129 373
Hawaii 112 678
Alaska 75 176

View All Rankings >

Business Administration & Management is one of 21 different types of Business, Management & Marketing programs to choose from.

Business Administration Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Business Administration and Management 28,705
Interior Design Management 911
Organizational Leadership 737
Project Management 120
Supply Chain Management 117
Operations Management 59
E-Commerce 42
Customer Service Management 15
Office Administration 11
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management 3

Majors Similar to Business Administration

Related Major Annual Graduates
Accounting 1,424
Business/Managerial Economics 1,230
Finance & Financial Management 1,199
Marketing 1,199
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 898
Hospitality Management 716
General Business/Commerce 526
Human Resource Management 427
International Business 395
Management Information Systems 264

Notes and References

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