Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Environmental Engineering

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

11 Ranked Colleges
257 Degrees Awarded
$16,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Environmental Engineering 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. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Environmental Engineering is the 166th most popular major in the country with 2,802 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, environmental engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,600 and had an average of $23,573 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 332 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,675 and $22,465 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 257 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 for a Bachelor’s in California”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Engineering in California

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #1 spot on the list. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a large public school situated in San Luis Obispo, California. It awarded 38 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

#2

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend San Diego State University is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering 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 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at SDSU

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #3 spot on the list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

UCSD not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - San Diego is $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering 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 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%.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at UCSD

#4

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Humboldt State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Humboldt State University is a public institution located in Arcata, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 68 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Humboldt State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Humboldt State University is $14,692 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at Humboldt State University

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 22 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Davis, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students per year to attend UC Davis.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at University of California - Davis

#4 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,329 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.

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%. 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

University of California - Irvine came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 14 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at University of California - Irvine

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #8. UCR is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $12,871 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at UCR

University of California - Merced ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This medium-sized school is located in Merced, California, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Merced also made our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Merced is $13,896 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Stanford University is $11,496 for California Bachelor’s Degree Environmental Engineering students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 4 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 86%, 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 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at Stanford

#11

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Environmental Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 1 bachelors’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $29,528 for california bachelor’s degree environmental engineering students per year to attend University of Southern California.

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 student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Environmental Engineering at USC

Switch to a Similar Major

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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

Featured Environment / Natural Resources Schools

Find Schools Near You