College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Value Colleges for General Environmental Engineering in California

11 Ranked Colleges
339 Degrees Awarded
$15,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

General Environmental Engineering is the 240th most popular major in the country with 2,759 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across California, there were 339 general environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general environmental engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general environmental engineering 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 environmental engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Environmental Engineering Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The environmental engineering 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 Environmental Engineering Schools in California”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for General Environmental Engineering in California

1

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #1 spot on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 36 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $20,677 for california environmental engineering students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Full California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo General Environmental Engineering Report

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 30 diplomas to qualified ’s environmental engineering students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california environmental engineering students list, UC Irvine has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $12,209 for California Environmental Engineering students.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at University of California - Irvine

3

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #3 spot on the list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 37 students in 2020-2021.

UC Davis also made our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $15,768 for California Environmental Engineering students.

The low undergrad 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%. 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 more about General Environmental Engineering at UC Davis

4
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. San Diego State University is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 29 ’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

SDSU also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $13,845 for california environmental engineering students per year to attend SDSU.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 General Environmental Engineering at SDSU

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. California State University - Fullerton is a large school located in Fullerton, California that handed out 28 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Cal State Fullerton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal State Fullerton is $8,003 for California Environmental Engineering students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on General Environmental Engineering at California State University - Fullerton

6

University of California - Berkeley ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 ’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $16,032 for California Environmental Engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Berkeley General Environmental Engineering Report

7

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.

UCR also took the #7 spot in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $11,822 for california environmental engineering students per year to attend UCR.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Riverside General Environmental Engineering Report

8

With a ranking of #8, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCSD is $15,240 for california environmental engineering students.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UCSD General Environmental Engineering Report

9
Humboldt State University crest
Humboldt State University
Arcata, California

With a ranking of #9, Humboldt State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California list. Arcata, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 39 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california environmental engineering students list, Humboldt State University has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Humboldt State University is $14,956 for California Environmental Engineering students.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at Humboldt State University

10

University of California - Merced came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California ranking. Merced, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 29 students in 2020-2021.

UC Merced not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. It costs about $13,691 for California Environmental Engineering students per year to attend University of California - Merced.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UC Merced General Environmental Engineering Report

11
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California landed the #11 spot on the 2024 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California ranking. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 48 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Southern California is $32,569 for California Environmental Engineering students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Environmental Engineering at USC

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options