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2022 Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

11 Ranked Colleges
239 Degrees Awarded
$21,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Urban Affairs 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. 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 Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Urban Studies/Affairs is the 341st most popular major in the country with 1,475 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 294 urban studies/affairs graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 239 urban studies/affairs graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in urban studies/affairs. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality urban studies/affairs programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the urban studies/affairs program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Urban Studies/Affairs Schools

The urban affairs 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 Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our 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 Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

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

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies/Affairs in California

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s urban affairs degrees to 34 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree urban affairs students list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,329 for california bachelor’s degree urban affairs 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Urban Studies/Affairs at UC Berkeley

#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. CSUN is a large school located in Northridge, California that handed out 22 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUN also made our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #10. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $8,414 for California Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students.

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%.

Full CSUN Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Urban Affairs 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. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 45 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students per year to attend University of California - San Diego.

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 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UCSD Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the #4 spot on the list. San Francisco State University is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 30 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees in 2019-2020.

SFSU also took the #7 spot in our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,113 for California Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students per year to attend SFSU.

Full SFSU Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s urban affairs degrees to 57 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree urban affairs students list, UC Irvine has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students per year to attend UC Irvine.

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

Full University of California - Irvine Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#9 in overall quality

San Diego State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU also took the #9 spot in our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SDSU is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree urban affairs students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Urban Studies/Affairs at San Diego State University

#7

Biola University

La Mirada, California
#11 in overall quality

Biola University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #7. Biola University is located in La Mirada, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees to qualified students.

Biola also took the #11 spot in our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $31,859 for california bachelor’s degree urban affairs students per year to attend Biola University.

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%.

Full Biola Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#8

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California
#6 in overall quality

Loyola Marymount University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Loyola Marymount is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 12 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree urban affairs students list, Loyola Marymount has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $42,861 for California Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students per year to attend Loyola Marymount.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.

Read full report on Urban Studies/Affairs at Loyola Marymount

#9

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California
#8 in overall quality

University of San Francisco landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. San Francisco, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s urban affairs degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree urban affairs students list, USFCA has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USFCA is $36,424 for california bachelor’s degree urban affairs students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full USFCA Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, Stanford University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Stanford University is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees to qualified students.

Stanford also made our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Stanford is $11,496 for California Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.

Full Stanford Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#11

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend USC is $29,528 for California Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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 Urban Studies/Affairs at University of Southern California

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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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