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2023 Best Value Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $0-$30k) in California

7 Ranked Colleges
669 Degrees Awarded
$12,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Engineering-Related Fields is the 112th most popular major in the country with 6,736 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, engineering-related fields graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $77,404 and had an average of $26,200 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 669 engineering-related fields graduates with average earnings and debt of $79,852 and $24,604 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering-related fields. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great engineering-related fields programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the engineering-related fields program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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The engineering-related fields school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

The colleges and universities below are the best for california engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 196 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Stanford also took the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $1,233 for California Engineering-Related Fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Stanford.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at Stanford

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Northridge is a large school located in Northridge, California that handed out 89 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.

CSUN did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Northridge is $6,266 for California Engineering-Related Fields students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Northridge Engineering-Related Fields Report

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. California State University - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k list, Cal State LA has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $1,887 for California Engineering-Related Fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal State LA.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State LA Engineering-Related Fields Report

4

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Chico landed the #4 spot on the list. Chico, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s engineering-related fields degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.

Chico State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,754 for California Engineering-Related Fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Chico State.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at Chico State

5
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. San Jose State is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 100 ’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at San Jose State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State is $12,158 for california engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at San Jose State University

6

With a ranking of #6, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school awarded 14 diplomas to qualified ’s engineering-related fields students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k list, Cal Poly Pomona has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $10,349 for california engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad 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 full report on Engineering-Related Fields at Cal Poly Pomona

7
Art Center College of Design crest
Art Center College of Design
Pasadena, California

Art Center College of Design landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Art Center College of Design is located in Pasadena, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 68 ’s engineering-related fields degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Art Center College of Design, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Art Center College of Design is $40,209 for california engineering-related fields students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at Art Center College of Design

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References

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