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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in California

12 Ranked Colleges
328 Degrees Awarded
$16,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor's in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 17,269 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 47th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 1,888 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 328 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public administration. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public administration programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public administration 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 the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

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

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in California

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. CSUN is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 41 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students list, CSUN has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSUN is $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree public admin 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%.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Northridge

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Fullerton, California, this large public school handed out 40 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal State Fullerton, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $7,991 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students per year to attend Cal State Fullerton.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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%.

Full California State University - Fullerton Public Administration Report

#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. This fairly large school is located in Carson, California, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUDH also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $4,215 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students per year to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills.

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%.

Full CSUDH Public Administration Report

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 98 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for San Diego State University is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, 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 89%.

Full San Diego State University Public Administration Report

#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Chico. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Chico, California, this fairly large public school awarded 13 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

Chico State also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Chico is $15,017 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at Chico State

#6

National University

La Jolla, California
#4 in overall quality

National University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. National University is a private not-for-profit institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

National University also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at National University

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

UCR also took the #10 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $12,871 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students per year to attend UCR.

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 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Riverside Public Administration Report

#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Bakersfield did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Bakersfield, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

CSUB also took the #12 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $5,318 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students per year to attend CSUB.

Read more about Public Administration at CSUB

#10

California Baptist University

Riverside, California
#1 in overall quality

California Baptist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #10. California Baptist University is located in Riverside, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Baptist, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Baptist University is $24,707 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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%.

Full California Baptist University Public Administration Report

#11

University of La Verne

La Verne, California
#7 in overall quality

University of La Verne did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #11. This medium-sized school is located in La Verne, California, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

ULV did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of La Verne is $25,780 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at ULV

#12

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California
#3 in overall quality

University of San Francisco did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #12. USFCA is a fairly large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 1 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

USFCA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for USFCA is $36,424 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of San Francisco Public Administration Report

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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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