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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in California

12 Ranked Colleges
328 Degrees Awarded
$12,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Public Administration is the 58th most popular major in the country with 17,269 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,859 and had an average of $42,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,888 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,265 and $36,406 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 For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree in public administration. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public administration 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 public administration program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Public Administration 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 Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in California

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Carson, California, this fairly large public school handed out 42 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, CSUDH has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $2,455 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at CSUDH

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school awarded 41 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

CSUN also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSUN is $5,945 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUN Public Administration Report

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #3 spot on the list. California State University - Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 40 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal State Fullerton also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $4,291 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

Full Cal State Fullerton Public Administration Report

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Diego State University is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 98 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $8,870 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

#10 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UCR is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $8,366 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

Read more about Public Administration at UCR

California State University - Bakersfield ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. CSUB is a fairly large school located in Bakersfield, California that handed out 8 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Bakersfield is $3,423 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Public Administration at CSUB

California State University - Chico landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Chico State is a fairly large public school situated in Chico, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, Chico State has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Chico State is $10,260 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Read more about Public Administration at Chico State

#8

National University

La Jolla, California

National University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. National University is located in La Jolla, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

National University also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4.

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 full report on Public Administration at National University

#9

California Baptist University

Riverside, California

California Baptist University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 17 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, Cal Baptist has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $20,277 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cal Baptist.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal Baptist Public Administration Report

With a ranking of #10, The University of Arizona Global Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UAGC is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, UAGC has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UAGC is $20,283 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Public Administration at UAGC

#11

University of La Verne

La Verne, California

University of La Verne landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. ULV is a medium-sized school located in La Verne, California that handed out 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. It costs about $21,297 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of La Verne.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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 ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of San Francisco is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USFCA, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USFCA is $27,690 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Read full report on Public Administration at USFCA

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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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