2023 Best Value Colleges for Religious Education (Income $48-$75k) in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Religious Ed Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 1,417 people earned their degree in religious education, making the major the 216th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, religious education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,694 and had an average of $27,203 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 53 religious education graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,766 and $25,038 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Religious Ed Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in religious education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great religious education 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 religious education program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Religious Ed Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Religious Ed Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Religious Ed Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Religious Education (Income $48-$75k) in California

1

Azusa Pacific University
Azusa, California

#2 in overall quality

$28,538 Average Net Price

$46,840 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Azusa Pacific University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Religious Ed Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k. Azusa Pacific University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Azusa, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 24 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Azusa Pacific, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Religious Education Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Azusa Pacific University is $28,538 for California Religious Ed students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.

Full Azusa Pacific Religious Education Report

2

Biola University
La Mirada, California

#1 in overall quality

$30,789 Average Net Price

$42,424 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Religious Ed Schools in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Biola University landed the #2 spot on the list. Biola University is located in La Mirada, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 ’s religious ed degrees to qualified students.

Biola did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Religious Education Schools in California” list. It costs about $30,789 for California Religious Ed students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Biola University.

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%.

Read full report on Religious Education at Biola

• Best Value Colleges for Religious Education (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Colleges for Religious Education (Income $48-$75k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to RichardF.