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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. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 17,269 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 58th most popular in the United States. 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” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public administration 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 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” 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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it 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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 41 students in 2019-2020.

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. It costs about $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students per year to attend California State University - Northridge.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California 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 took 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 California State University - Fullerton.

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

Full Cal State Fullerton Public Administration Report

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 - Dominguez Hills landed the #3 spot on the list. California State University - Dominguez Hills is a public institution located in Carson, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUDH, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CSUDH is $4,215 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

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 more about Public Administration at CSUDH

#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 list. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 98 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree public admin 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%. 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 SDSU Public Administration Report

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 - Chico landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Chico, California, this fairly large public school awarded 13 degrees 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 California State University - Chico

#6

National University

La Jolla, California

National University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. National University is a fairly large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 15 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students list, National University has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 National University Public Administration Report

#10 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #10. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $12,871 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Public Administration at UCR

California State University - Bakersfield landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California State University - Bakersfield is a fairly large public school situated in Bakersfield, California. It awarded 8 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUB also took the #12 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSUB is $5,318 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

Full California State University - Bakersfield Public Administration Report

#10

California Baptist University

Riverside, California

California Baptist University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California Baptist University is a fairly large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 17 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Baptist also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $24,707 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students per year to attend California Baptist University.

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%.

Read full report on Public Administration at California Baptist University

#11

University of La Verne

La Verne, California

With a ranking of #11, University of La Verne did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of La Verne is a medium-sized school located in La Verne, California that handed out 25 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

ULV also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $25,780 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students per year to attend University of La Verne.

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 full report on Public Administration at ULV

#12

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California
#3 in overall quality

University of San Francisco landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This fairly large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 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. It costs about $36,424 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students per year to attend University of San Francisco.

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%.

Read more about 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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