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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Electrical Engineering in California

30 Ranked Colleges
2,475 Degrees Awarded
$15,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor's in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 30,670 people earned their degree in electrical engineering, making the major the 31st most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, electrical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $70,098 and had an average of $23,581 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 4,736 electrical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $76,979 and $20,468 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,475 electrical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking looked at 30 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in electrical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent electrical engineering programs, but they also cost less that 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 electrical engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. 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 EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Electrical Engineering in California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in San Luis Obispo, California, and it awarded 130 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Electrical Engineering at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 452 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #2 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Berkeley Electrical Engineering Report

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 155 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ee students list, UCLA has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $14,279 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. This large school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 43 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State also took the #21 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $5,464 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 Electrical Engineering at Fresno State

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s EE degrees to 169 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ee students list, CSULB has also earned the #17 rank in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Long Beach Electrical Engineering Report

California State University - Northridge ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Northridge is a large school located in Northridge, California that handed out 85 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUN not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #23 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $8,414 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students.

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 more about Electrical Engineering at CSUN

#19 in overall quality

California State University - Chico did quite well in the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #7. Chico, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s EE degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.

Chico State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #19 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Chico State is $15,017 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Chico State Electrical Engineering Report

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Pomona, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s EE degrees to 115 students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Poly Pomona is $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

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 student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 Electrical Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona

#9

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. SDSU is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 132 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SDSU, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree ee students per year to attend San Diego State University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full SDSU Electrical Engineering Report

#10

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

San Jose State University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 96 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ee students list, San Jose State has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Read more about Electrical Engineering at San Jose State University

University of California - San Diego ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UCSD is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 159 bachelors’s EE degrees to qualified students.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $14,232 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

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 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - San Diego Electrical Engineering Report

#12

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s EE degrees to 52 students in 2019-2020.

UCSB also took the #10 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,884 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students per year to attend UCSB.

The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Electrical Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #13. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 96 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ee students list, Sac State has also earned the #22 rank in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Sac State is $9,979 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 Electrical Engineering at California State University - Sacramento

With a ranking of #14, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 100 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students per year to attend UC Irvine.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at University of California - Irvine

With a ranking of #15, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Fullerton is located in Fullerton, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 74 bachelors’s EE degrees to qualified students.

Cal State Fullerton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #25 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $7,991 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students per year to attend California State University - Fullerton.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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 89%.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at Cal State Fullerton

California State University - Los Angeles came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Cal State LA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 110 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $2,768 for california bachelor’s degree ee students per year to attend California State University - Los Angeles.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State LA Electrical Engineering Report

With a ranking of #17, California State University - Bakersfield did quite well on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Bakersfield is a fairly large school located in Bakersfield, California that handed out 26 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for CSUB is $5,318 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

Read more about Electrical Engineering at California State University - Bakersfield

#18

National University

La Jolla, California
#16 in overall quality

With a ranking of #18, National University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

National University also took the #16 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.

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%.

Read more about Electrical Engineering at National University

#19

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in San Francisco, California, this large public school awarded 52 degrees to qualified bachelors’s EE students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend San Francisco State University is $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at SFSU

#20

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #20. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 73 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR also made our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #18. It costs about $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree ee students per year to attend UCR.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at UCR

#21

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, California

Sonoma State University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Sonoma State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Rohnert Park, California. It awarded 14 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $17,478 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students per year to attend Sonoma State University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Electrical Engineering at SSU

#22

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 58 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also made our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #20. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $18,186 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

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

Read more about Electrical Engineering at University of California - Santa Cruz

Southern California Institute of Technology came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in Anaheim, California, this small private for-profit school awarded 56 degrees to qualified bachelors’s EE students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $27,143 for California Bachelor’s Degree EE students per year to attend Southern California Institute of Technology.

The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at Southern California Institute of Technology

#24

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California

Loyola Marymount University landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Loyola Marymount University is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s EE degrees to qualified students.

Loyola Marymount not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola Marymount University is $42,861 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

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. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 Electrical Engineering at Loyola Marymount University

#25

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California

University of the Pacific ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of the Pacific is located in Stockton, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s EE degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pacific, the school also landed the #24 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of the Pacific is $28,929 for california bachelor’s degree ee students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at Pacific

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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 NASA.

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