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2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income Over $110k) in California

8 Ranked Colleges
798 Degrees Awarded
$36,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 California, there were 798 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,313 and $22,744 respectively.

This year’s “Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than 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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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

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Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income Over $110k) in California

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 114 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $16,032 for California Public Policy students whose families make more than $110k.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of California - Berkeley Public Policy Report

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 131 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $15,023 for California Public Policy students whose families make more than $110k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 more about Public Policy at UCLA

3

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #3 spot on the list. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 109 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california public policy students whose families make more than $110k list, UCR has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Riverside is $11,822 for california public policy students whose families make more than $110k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of California - Riverside Public Policy Report

4

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #4 spot on the list. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 14 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,209 for california public policy students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend UC Irvine.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Irvine

5
CLU crest
California Lutheran University
Thousand Oaks, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Lutheran University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k list. California Lutheran University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Thousand Oaks, California. It awarded 30 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

CLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CLU is $27,410 for california public policy students whose families make more than $110k.

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

6
Mills crest
Mills College
Oakland, California

Mills College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mills, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Mills is $24,949 for california public policy students whose families make more than $110k.

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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.

Read more about Public Policy at Mills College

7
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k ranking. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 199 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

USC also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $32,569 for California Public Policy students whose families make more than $110k.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Southern California

8
Pepperdine crest
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Pepperdine University did quite well in the 2023 Best Vallue Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making Over $110k ranking, coming in at #8. Pepperdine University is located in Malibu, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Pepperdine also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list, coming in at #10. The estimated yearly cost for Pepperdine University is $38,846 for california public policy students whose families make more than $110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Pepperdine University

Notes and References

References

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