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2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

59 Ranked Colleges
8,454 Degrees Awarded
$11,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Sociology is the 20th most popular major in the country with 37,747 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 14,493 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 8,454 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 59 colleges that offered a degree in sociology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great sociology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the sociology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Sociology Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Sociology in California (With Aid)

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 452 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Cal State LA is $2,768 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal State LA Sociology Report

Out of the 59 schools in the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #2 spot on the list. CSUDH is a fairly large public school situated in Carson, California. It awarded 246 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend CSUDH is $4,215 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 Sociology at California State University - Dominguez Hills

Out of the 59 schools in the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #3 spot on the list. Cal State Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 382 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $7,991 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Sociology at California State University - Fullerton

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#4 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 #4 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 779 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

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%.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Sociology Report

Out of the 59 schools in the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #5 spot on the list. Fresno State is a large public school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 142 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $5,464 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid per year to attend California State University - Fresno.

The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Sociology at Fresno State

California State University - Northridge came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. CSUN is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 531 bachelors’s sociology degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend CSUN is $8,414 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Sociology at California State University - Northridge

#7

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s sociology degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $11,496 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

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

California State University - Stanislaus landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This fairly large school is located in Turlock, California, and it awarded 169 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Stan State is $6,019 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Stan State Sociology Report

#21 in overall quality

California State University - Long Beach ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Long Beach, California, this large public school handed out 322 degrees to qualified bachelors’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California State University - Long Beach Sociology Report

#12 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 238 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also made our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #12. It costs about $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid per year to attend UC Irvine.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Sociology at University of California - Irvine

#11

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California
#3 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 310 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Berkeley is $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

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 96%.

Read full report on Sociology at University of California - Berkeley

#12

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This fairly large school is located in San Bernardino, California, and it awarded 301 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $7,342 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid per year to attend CSUSB.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Sociology at California State University - San Bernardino

#13

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California
#20 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #13. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 339 bachelors’s sociology degrees to qualified students.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Riverside is $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

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 2.1% 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 more about Sociology at UCR

California State University - Bakersfield landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Bakersfield, California, this fairly large public school handed out 110 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend CSUB is $5,318 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

Read more about Sociology at CSUB

California State University - Sacramento came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Sac State is a large public school situated in Sacramento, California. It awarded 224 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid per year to attend Sac State.

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 more about Sociology at California State University - Sacramento

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Davis ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s sociology degrees to 275 students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Davis is $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read full report on Sociology at University of California - Davis

#17

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont, California
#2 in overall quality

Claremont McKenna College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Claremont, California, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

Claremont McKenna also took the #2 spot in our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $22,161 for California Bachelor’s Degree Sociology students with aid per year to attend Claremont McKenna College.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 Sociology at Claremont McKenna

#16 in overall quality

University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #18. University of California - San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 121 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSD, the school also landed the #16 spot in our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,232 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid per year to attend UCSD.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The 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 Sociology at UCSD

#23 in overall quality

With a ranking of #19, California State University - East Bay did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - East Bay is a public institution located in Hayward, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 235 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid list, Cal State East Bay has also earned the #23 rank in our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Cal State East Bay is $11,116 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

Read more about Sociology at Cal State East Bay

#20

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#10 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #20. This large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 713 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also took the #10 spot in our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCSB is $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

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

Read full report on Sociology at UCSB

#21

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#17 in overall quality

San Jose State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #21. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s sociology degrees to 190 students in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also took the #17 spot in our “Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State University is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low student loan default rate of 3.7% 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 more about Sociology at San Jose State

#22

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in San Diego, California, this large public school handed out 112 degrees to qualified bachelors’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid per year to attend SDSU.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Sociology at SDSU

California State University - San Marcos landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in San Marcos, California, this fairly large public school awarded 254 degrees to qualified bachelors’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - San Marcos is $13,399 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Sociology at California State University - San Marcos

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a large school located in Pomona, California that handed out 206 bachelors’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 more about Sociology at Cal Poly Pomona

#25

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

With a ranking of #25, San Francisco State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. San Francisco State University is a public institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 114 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for SFSU is $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree sociology students with aid.

Full SFSU Sociology Report

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

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Kontos.

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