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2024 Best Value Colleges for Interior Design in California

10 Ranked Colleges
756 Degrees Awarded
$22,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Interior Design Schools in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Interior Design Schools in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Interior Design is the 150th most popular major in the country with 5,840 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across California, there were 756 interior design graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Interior Design Schools in California” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in interior design. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent interior design programs, but they also 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 interior design program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Interior Design Schools

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Interior Design Schools 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. 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 Interior Design Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california interior design students.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Interior Design in California

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Interior Design Schools in California list. California State University - Long Beach is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 36 ’s interior design degrees to qualified students.

CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Long Beach is $10,054 for california interior design students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSULB Interior Design Report

2
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Interior Design Schools in California list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s interior design degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.

San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $16,542 for California Interior Design students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Interior Design at San Jose State

3
SFSU crest
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Value Interior Design Schools in California list. San Francisco State University is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 61 ’s interior design degrees in 2020-2021.

SFSU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,459 for california interior design students per year to attend San Francisco State University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, 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 85%.

Read more about Interior Design at San Francisco State University

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Interior Design Schools in California. California State University - Fresno is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 17 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Fresno State, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Fresno State is $6,230 for California Interior Design students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.2% 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 Interior Design at California State University - Fresno

5
San Diego Mesa College crest
San Diego Mesa College
San Diego, California

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Interior Design Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego Mesa College landed the #5 spot on the list. San Diego Mesa College is a fairly large school located in San Diego, California that handed out 25 ’s interior design degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at San Diego Mesa College, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Diego Mesa College is $5,573 for California Interior Design students.

Read full report on Interior Design at San Diego Mesa College

6

FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Value Interior Design Schools in California ranking. FIDM Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 33 ’s interior design degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at FIDM Los Angeles, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend FIDM Los Angeles is $40,793 for california interior design students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Interior Design at FIDM Los Angeles

7
Design Institute of San Diego crest
Design Institute of San Diego
San Diego, California

Design Institute of San Diego did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Interior Design Schools in California ranking, coming in at #7. Design Institute of San Diego is located in San Diego, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 ’s interior design degrees to qualified students.

Design Institute of San Diego also took the #8 spot in our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $40,842 for california interior design students per year to attend Design Institute of San Diego.

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. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Interior Design at Design Institute of San Diego

8
9
Interior Designers Institute crest
Interior Designers Institute
Newport Beach, California

Interior Designers Institute landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Value Interior Design Schools in California ranking. Interior Designers Institute is a small school located in Newport Beach, California that handed out 51 ’s interior design degrees in 2020-2021.

Interior Designers Institute also took the #10 spot in our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” ranking.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Interior Designers Institute Interior Design Report

10
California College of the Arts crest
California College of the Arts
San Francisco, California

California College of the Arts landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Value Interior Design Schools in California ranking. California College of the Arts is located in San Francisco, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 ’s interior design degrees to qualified students.

California College of the Arts not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Interior Design Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California College of the Arts is $33,122 for california interior design students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Interior Design at California College of the Arts

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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