2026 Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools in California
[Agricultural Engineering](/majors/engineering/agricultural-engineering-ae/agricultural-engineering/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
College Factual analyzed 4 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value agricultural engineering schools.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools in California
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in agricultural engineering, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Agricultural Engineering Schools
Leading the list is California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, our #1 best value for agricultural engineering in California. California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo. In-state tuition and fees average $12,161, with out-of-state students paying around $33,230. Typical student debt for agricultural engineering graduates is $16,420. Early-career agricultural engineering graduates make about $72,713. Set against $16,420 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 31% of applicants are accepted.
More Agricultural Engineering Rankings
View All Agricultural Engineering Rankings >
Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
