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2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

35 Ranked Colleges
15,052 Degrees Awarded
$9,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Engineering is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 6th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 200,458 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,888 and had an average of $23,564 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 25,440 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $67,620 and $21,114 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 15,052 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 35 colleges that offer a degree in engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great engineering programs and 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 engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Engineering Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 35 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 286 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $1,145 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%.

Full Stanford Engineering Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. University of California - Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,011 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $9,130 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Engineering at UC Berkeley

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#7 in overall quality

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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. UCLA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 669 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $9,254 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. California State University - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 313 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Los Angeles is $2,117 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low 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 more about Engineering at California State University - Los Angeles

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Fresno State is located in Fresno, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 234 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $3,731 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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 full report on Engineering at California State University - Fresno

#6

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California
#4 in overall quality

California Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. Caltech is a small school located in Pasadena, California that handed out 53 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Caltech, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $3,756 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Caltech.

The school has an impressive 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 students. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Engineering at Caltech

#12 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 1,055 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also took the #12 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $10,373 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering at UC Irvine

California State University - Fullerton came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. California State University - Fullerton is located in Fullerton, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 463 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Fullerton is $6,100 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 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%.

Read full report on Engineering at California State University - Fullerton

#6 in overall quality

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,254 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also took the #6 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $14,680 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 1.1% 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%.

Read full report on Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

#10

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#16 in overall quality

San Diego State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 810 students in 2019-2020.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $10,594 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%.

Read full report on Engineering at SDSU

#24 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. CSULB is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 759 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB also took the #24 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $7,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend CSULB.

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 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 more about Engineering at CSULB

With a ranking of #12, California State University - Northridge did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school handed out 507 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $6,883 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend CSUN.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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 Engineering at CSUN

#13

Harvey Mudd College

Claremont, California
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, Harvey Mudd College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Claremont, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 68 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

Harvey Mudd College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Harvey Mudd College is $23,234 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Engineering at Harvey Mudd College

#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #14, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 933 students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $10,769 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of California - Davis Engineering Report

#15

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California
#23 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 455 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #23 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $9,151 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UCR.

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%.

Full UCR Engineering Report

#13 in overall quality

University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #16. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 948 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #13. It costs about $9,974 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UCSD.

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

Full University of California - San Diego Engineering Report

#17

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#14 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of California - Santa Barbara is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 249 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, UCSB has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCSB is $11,895 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read full report on Engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara

#25 in overall quality

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #18. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 516 students in 2019-2020.

Sac State also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #25. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Sacramento is $7,823 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering at Sac State

#19

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#5 in overall quality

University of Southern California came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 413 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Southern California is $16,252 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. 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%.

Read full report on Engineering at University of Southern California

With a ranking of #20, California State University - Bakersfield did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. California State University - Bakersfield is a fairly large school located in Bakersfield, California that handed out 73 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend CSUB is $3,880 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Engineering at California State University - Bakersfield

#21

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#20 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #21 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 215 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #20 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $11,793 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UC Santa Cruz.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. 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 Engineering at UC Santa Cruz

#19 in overall quality

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school handed out 972 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona also took the #19 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly Pomona is $9,630 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read full report on Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

#23

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#18 in overall quality

San Jose State University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. San Jose State is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 984 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #18. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State is $11,752 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering at San Jose State

#22 in overall quality

With a ranking of #24, California State University - Chico did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. California State University - Chico is a public institution located in Chico, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 227 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, Chico State has also earned the #22 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Chico State is $11,576 for California Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at Chico State

#25

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 244 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $12,517 for california bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend SFSU.

Read full report on Engineering at San Francisco State University

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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.

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