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2022 Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California

7 Ranked Colleges
615 Degrees Awarded
$10,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 9,938 people earned their degree in legal assistant/paralegal, making the major the 123rd most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 1,330 legal assistant/paralegal graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 615 legal assistant/paralegal graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in legal assistant/paralegal. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great legal assistant/paralegal programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the legal assistant/paralegal program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california associate degree paralegal students.

#1

American River College

Sacramento, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American River College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California list. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s paralegal degrees to 36 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at American River, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Legal Assistant/Paralegal Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend American River College is $4,816 for california associate degree paralegal students.

Full American River Legal Assistant/Paralegal Report

#2

Coastline Community College

Fountain Valley, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Coastline Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California. Coastline Community College is a public institution located in Fountain Valley, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 24 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Coastline Community College, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Legal Assistant/Paralegal Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Coastline Community College is $7,389 for california associate degree paralegal students.

Full Coastline Community College Legal Assistant/Paralegal Report

#3

West Los Angeles College

Culver City, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend West Los Angeles College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California. West Los Angeles College is a fairly large public school situated in Culver City, California. It awarded 12 associates’s paralegal degrees in 2019-2020.

West LA College also took the #4 spot in our “Best Legal Assistant/Paralegal Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend West Los Angeles College is $7,084 for california associate degree paralegal students.

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%.

Read more about Legal Assistant/Paralegal at West Los Angeles College

#4

Cerritos College

Norwalk, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cerritos College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California. This large school is located in Norwalk, California, and it awarded 16 associates’s paralegal degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cerritos College, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Legal Assistant/Paralegal Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cerritos College is $4,022 for California Associate Degree Paralegal students.

Read full report on Legal Assistant/Paralegal at Cerritos College

#5

National University

La Jolla, California
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, National University landed the #5 spot on the list. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 2 associates’s paralegal degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree paralegal students list, National University has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Legal Assistant/Paralegal Associate 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 Legal Assistant/Paralegal at National University

#6

South Coast College

Orange, California
#7 in overall quality

South Coast College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California ranking. South Coast College is located in Orange, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 associates’s paralegal degrees to qualified students.

South Coast College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Legal Assistant/Paralegal Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for South Coast College is $22,048 for California Associate Degree Paralegal students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Legal Assistant/Paralegal at South Coast College

#9 in overall quality

Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Paralegal Schools for an Associate in California ranking, coming in at #7. Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield is a private for-profit institution located in Bakersfield, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield also made our “Best Legal Assistant/Paralegal Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield is $15,877 for california associate degree paralegal students.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Legal Assistant/Paralegal at Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield

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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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