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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $48-$75k) in California

10 Ranked Colleges
697 Degrees Awarded
$25,000 Avg Salary
Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $48-$75k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 29,936 people earned their degree in general education, making the major the 35th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,138 and had an average of $29,674 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 7,838 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,089 and $30,845 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 697 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the general education program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $48-$75k) in California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 367 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $13,648 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of California - Irvine.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Education at UC Irvine

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school handed out 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $48-$75k list, UCSD has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $14,071 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UCSD General Education Report

#3

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 1 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $20,050 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Southern California General Education Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanguard University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Vanguard is located in Costa Mesa, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Vanguard, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Vanguard University of Southern California is $18,625 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Vanguard University of Southern California General Education Report

#5

Hope International University

Fullerton, California
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hope International University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. This small school is located in Fullerton, California, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Hope also took the #9 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Hope is $18,800 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Hope General Education Report

The University of Arizona Global Campus landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Located in San Diego, California, this large private for-profit school handed out 204 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UAGC, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $22,687 for california bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UAGC.

Read more about General Education at UAGC

#7

Mills College

Oakland, California
#10 in overall quality

Mills College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Mills College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oakland, California. It awarded 1 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $48-$75k list, Mills has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Mills is $21,661 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Mills General Education Report

#8

Biola University

La Mirada, California
#6 in overall quality

Biola University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Biola University is a private not-for-profit institution located in La Mirada, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Biola did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $29,212 for California Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Biola University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Education at Biola

#9

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California
#7 in overall quality

Mount Saint Mary’s University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. MSMU is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

MSMU also took the #7 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mount Saint Mary’s University is $26,880 for california bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about General Education at Mount Saint Mary’s University

#10

Chapman University

Orange, California

With a ranking of #10, Chapman University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. Orange, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s education degrees to 46 students in 2019-2020.

Chapman also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $36,041 for california bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Chapman University.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Education at Chapman

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Notes and References

References

  • 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%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

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