Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region

81 Ranked Colleges
2,059 Degrees Awarded
$20,373 Avg Salary
Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking.

Music is the 40th most popular major in the country with 27,047 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, music graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $25,639 and had an average of $28,653 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 4,534 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,228 and $32,045 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,059 music graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 81 colleges that offered a degree in music. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great music programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the music program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” 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. 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 Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Music (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k. Stanford is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k list, Stanford has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford University is $1,959 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at Stanford University

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Seattle, Washington, this large public school handed out 26 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $9,694 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UW Seattle.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

Out of the 81 schools in the Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. Cal State LA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 28 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Los Angeles is $5,644 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at California State University - Los Angeles

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 67 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $13,081 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of California - Los Angeles.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Los Angeles

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 33 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $13,081 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Music at University of California - Berkeley

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Cal State Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 67 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Fullerton is $9,427 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Fullerton Music Report

#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also took the #2 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $19,407 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%.

Read more about Music at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

With a ranking of #8, University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Las Vegas, Nevada is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

UNLV also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #14. The estimated yearly cost for University of Nevada - Las Vegas is $12,470 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full UNLV Music Report

California State University - Fresno did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #9. This large school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $7,549 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California State University - Fresno Music Report

California State University - Northridge did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #10. CSUN is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 125 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for CSUN is $10,783 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%.

Full CSUN Music Report

University of California - Irvine ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 16 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $13,648 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Irvine

With a ranking of #12, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. California State University - Long Beach is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 113 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Long Beach is $10,807 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at California State University - Long Beach

California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #13. Carson, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $6,907 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at California State University - Dominguez Hills

#14

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

With a ranking of #14, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $15,343 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UCSB.

The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read full report on Music at University of California - Santa Barbara

#15

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California

With a ranking of #15, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $12,290 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of California - Riverside.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Music at UCR

With a ranking of #16, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UC Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 bachelors’s music degrees to qualified students.

UC Davis also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #19. It costs about $13,578 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UC Davis.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Music at University of California - Davis

#17

Occidental College

Los Angeles, California
#6 in overall quality

Occidental College landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Occidental College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 11 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

Oxy did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Oxy is $19,364 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low 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%.

Full Occidental College Music Report

With a ranking of #18, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school handed out 32 degrees to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $14,071 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of California - San Diego.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default 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 UCSD Music Report

#19

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. San Bernardino, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $8,924 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend CSUSB.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Music at CSUSB

#20

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 63 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for SDSU is $14,730 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full SDSU Music Report

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #21. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - Sacramento is $11,413 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Sacramento Music Report

California State University - Stanislaus landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Stan State is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 3 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Stan State is $7,772 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Stan State Music Report

#23

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

San Jose State University landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Located in San Jose, California, this large public school handed out 44 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s music students in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also made our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $16,397 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Music students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend San Jose State.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Music at San Jose State University

With a ranking of #24, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Pomona, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s music degrees to 60 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly Pomona, the school also landed the #20 spot in our “Best Music Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $14,012 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Music Report

#25

Eastern Washington University

Cheney, Washington

Eastern Washington University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Music Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. EWU is a fairly large school located in Cheney, Washington that handed out 14 bachelors’s music degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for EWU is $12,856 for far western us region bachelor’s degree music students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Eastern Washington University Music Report

Switch to a More Focused Major

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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.

Featured Performing Arts Schools

Find Schools Near You