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

11 Ranked Colleges
339 Degrees Awarded
$9,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2020-2021, 2,759 people earned their degree in environmental engineering, making the major the 173rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, environmental engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $57,215 and had an average of $24,744 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 339 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,600 and $23,322 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in environmental engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great environmental engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the environmental engineering 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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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in California

1

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Fullerton, California, this large public school awarded 28 diplomas to qualified ’s environmental engineering students in 2020-2021.

Cal State Fullerton also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $4,590 for california environmental engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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%.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at California State University - Fullerton

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 37 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. It costs about $10,006 for California Environmental Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Davis.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at University of California - Davis

3

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school awarded 30 diplomas to qualified ’s environmental engineering students in 2020-2021.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $6,540 for california environmental engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, 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 undergraduate students.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at UC Irvine

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Berkeley is $8,450 for california environmental engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley

5
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 48 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

USC also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend USC is $17,287 for California Environmental Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Southern California Environmental Engineering Report

6
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

With a ranking of #6, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s environmental engineering degrees to 29 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california environmental engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, SDSU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SDSU is $7,169 for california environmental engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at San Diego State University

7

University of California - Riverside came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 25 diplomas to qualified ’s environmental engineering students in 2020-2021.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $6,810 for california environmental engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 Environmental Engineering at University of California - Riverside

8

With a ranking of #8, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 36 ’s environmental engineering degrees to qualified students.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $12,173 for California Environmental Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

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 94%.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

9

University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. 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 also took the #8 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - San Diego is $9,823 for California Environmental Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, 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 undergraduate students.

Full University of California - San Diego Environmental Engineering Report

10
Humboldt State University crest
Humboldt State University
Arcata, California

With a ranking of #10, Humboldt State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Arcata, California, and it awarded 39 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Humboldt State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Humboldt State University is $11,473 for california environmental engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at Humboldt State University

11

University of California - Merced came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Merced, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Merced is $10,363 for California Environmental Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at University of California - Merced

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