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2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

11 Ranked Colleges
892 Degrees Awarded
$13,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 892 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,209 and $22,744 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy 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 policy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. 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 Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region

1

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 114 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Berkeley is $9,999 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, 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 96%.

Read full report on Public Policy at UC Berkeley

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 131 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our far western us region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, UCLA has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Los Angeles is $9,891 for far western us region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, 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 undergraduate students.

Read more about Public Policy at UCLA

3

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nevada - Las Vegas landed the #3 spot on the list. Las Vegas, Nevada is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.

UNLV not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $9,602 for far western us region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UNLV.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UNLV Public Policy Report

4
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 199 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

USC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $17,345 for far western us region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Southern California.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read more about Public Policy at USC

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UCR is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 109 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Riverside is $8,193 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at University of California - Riverside

6

University of California - Irvine ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 14 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Irvine also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Irvine is $8,449 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Irvine Public Policy Report

7

Portland State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Portland State University is located in Portland, Oregon and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 25 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our far western us region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, Portland State University has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $11,059 for far western us region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Portland State University.

The low undergrad 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%.

Full Portland State University Public Policy Report

8
Wazzu crest
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

Washington State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. This large school is located in Pullman, Washington, and it awarded 12 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Wazzu also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend Wazzu is $8,719 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad 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 full report on Public Policy at Washington State University

9
CLU crest
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, California

California Lutheran University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Thousand Oaks, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 30 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

CLU also took the #12 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Lutheran University is $20,772 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California Lutheran University Public Policy Report

10
Mills crest
Mills College
Oakland, California

Mills College landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Mills is a private not-for-profit institution located in Oakland, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 31 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Mills also took the #9 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mills is $22,472 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Mills

11
Pepperdine crest
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Pepperdine University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Malibu, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 31 students in 2020-2021.

Pepperdine also took the #13 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Pepperdine is $25,909 for Far Western US Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Pepperdine University Public Policy Report

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