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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education in California (With Aid)

20 Ranked Colleges
4,193 Degrees Awarded
$12,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Early Childhood Education is the 34th most popular major in the country with 31,017 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 4,724 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 4,193 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 20 colleges that offer a degree in early childhood education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent early childhood education programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the early childhood education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Early Childhood Education Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

Top 20 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education in California (With Aid)

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 20 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #1 spot on the list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 518 students in 2019-2020.

Cal State Fullerton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal State Fullerton is $7,991 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Cal State Fullerton

#12 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. California State University - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 385 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.

Cal State LA also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #12. It costs about $2,768 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid per year to attend Cal State LA.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - Los Angeles

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. CSUN is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 352 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUN, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at CSUN

#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Bakersfield. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. CSUB is a fairly large public school situated in Bakersfield, California. It awarded 114 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid list, CSUB has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $5,318 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid per year to attend CSUB.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at CSUB

#17 in overall quality

Out of the 20 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #5 spot on the list. Carson, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 194 students in 2019-2020.

CSUDH also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #17. It costs about $4,215 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid per year to attend CSUDH.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - Dominguez Hills

#3 in overall quality

California State University - Sacramento ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Sacramento is a large public school situated in Sacramento, California. It awarded 479 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at Sac State

#16 in overall quality

California State University - Fresno came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 96 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Fresno State is $5,464 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Fresno State

#6 in overall quality

California State University - San Marcos came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Marcos, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 86 students in 2019-2020.

CSUSM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $13,399 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid per year to attend CSUSM.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUSM Early Childhood Education Report

#20 in overall quality

California State University - Stanislaus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Stan State is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 56 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stan State, the school also landed the #20 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $6,019 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid per year to attend Stan State.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at Stan State

#10

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#2 in overall quality

San Jose State University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 248 students in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full San Jose State Early Childhood Education Report

#11

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#14 in overall quality

San Diego State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 157 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SDSU, the school also landed the #14 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full San Diego State University Early Childhood Education Report

#12

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#10 in overall quality

San Francisco State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 197 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid list, SFSU has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SFSU is $15,113 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at SFSU

#13 in overall quality

California State University - Chico came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Chico State is a public institution located in Chico, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 72 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Chico State also took the #13 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Chico State is $15,017 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at California State University - Chico

#21 in overall quality

Humphreys University - Stockton and Modesto Campuses landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Humphreys University - Stockton and Modesto Campuses is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Stockton, California. It awarded 17 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Humphreys University also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #21. The estimated yearly cost for Humphreys University is $11,055 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Full Humphreys University Early Childhood Education Report

#5 in overall quality

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 68 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Early Childhood Education at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

#11 in overall quality

The University of Arizona Global Campus came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. The University of Arizona Global Campus is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 832 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UAGC, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $20,510 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid per year to attend UAGC.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at The University of Arizona Global Campus

#17

National University

La Jolla, California
#9 in overall quality

National University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. National University is located in La Jolla, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 144 bachelors’s child development degrees to qualified students.

National University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full National University Early Childhood Education Report

#18

Brandman University

Irvine, California
#7 in overall quality

Brandman University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Irvine, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s child development degrees to 51 students in 2019-2020.

Brandman also took the #7 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Brandman is $21,604 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Brandman

#15 in overall quality

Vanguard University of Southern California landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Vanguard University of Southern California is a small school located in Costa Mesa, California that handed out 6 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanguard also took the #15 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Vanguard is $20,051 for california bachelor’s degree child development students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Vanguard University of Southern California Early Childhood Education Report

#20

California Baptist University

Riverside, California
#19 in overall quality

California Baptist University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Child development Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 55 bachelors’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Baptist did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #19 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California Baptist University is $24,707 for California Bachelor’s Degree Child development students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California Baptist University Early Childhood Education Report

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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 Vgrigas.

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