by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard. This list may shock you as many typically expensive schools are very generous with need-based financial aid.
See What's Included in This Value Report:
Our analysis looked at 113 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones have the best value Master's Degree programs. Instead of depending on subjective information to rank the best value schools, we focus on objective factors in our analysis. More specifically, the following explains what we consider and why.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $0-$30k a year. The net price is the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that that the student receives. But, a school that excels in providing value for your money must also be a great school overall as well.
To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
To learn more, visit our best value ranking methodology page.
Keep scrolling for the top schools in this ranking or select one of the other rankings methods below.
If you know what major you want to study, check out our list of the best value schools by major. If you're interested in other degree levels, you can view one of the lists below.
Learn more about these excellent schools below: Stanford University tops this year’s ranking as the best value (income $0-$30k) school for master’s degrees in the Far Western US Region for overall quality. Located in Stanford, California, the school is a fairly large private not-for-profit institution. Stanford University has the honor of being ranked #1 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. A rank of #2 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for students working on their degree. This large public school is located in Los Angeles, California. University of California - Los Angeles has the honor of being ranked #5 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Learn More About Value at University of California - Los Angeles Out of the 113 master’s degree schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. UW Seattle is located in Seattle, Washington and has a large student population. It is a public school. In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Washington - Seattle Campus is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Washington. Learn More About Value at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Out of the 113 master’s degree schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in San Diego, California, the school is a large public institution. San Diego State University has the honor of being ranked #32 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school located in Berkeley, California. In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of California - Berkeley is ranked #4 for quality in the state of California.1
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Washington State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking. Wazzu is a public institution located in Pullman, Washington.
Not only is Washington State University a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Washington for overall quality.
California Institute of Technology ranked #7 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. Pasadena, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school. University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #8. UCSD is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. Not only is University of California - San Diego a great value, but it is also ranked #7 in California for overall quality. University of Southern California did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Los Angeles, California, the school is a large private not-for-profit institution. University of Southern California has the honor of being ranked #2 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #10. UC Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. Not only is University of California - Irvine a great value, but it is also ranked #14 in California for overall quality.7
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California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #11. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Los Angeles is ranked #56 for quality in the state of California.
California State University - Fullerton landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking. This large public school is located in Fullerton, California. In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Fullerton is ranked #54 for quality in the state of California. With a ranking of #13, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. San Bernardino, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a public school. In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - San Bernardino is ranked #62 for quality in the state of California. Full California State University - San Bernardino Value Report With a ranking of #14, Western Washington University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. Bellingham, Washington is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a public school. Not only is Western Washington University a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in Washington for overall quality. California State University - Long Beach came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking. This large public school is located in Long Beach, California. In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Long Beach is ranked #38 for quality in the state of California. Read full value report on California State University - Long Beach12
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California State University - Monterey Bay ranked #15 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. CSUMB is a public institution located in Seaside, California.
Not only is California State University - Monterey Bay a great value, but it is also ranked #71 in California for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at California State University - Monterey Bay
With a ranking of #17, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. Sac State is located in Sacramento, California and has a large student population. It is a public school. California State University - Sacramento has the honor of being ranked #52 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Learn More About Value at California State University - Sacramento California State University - Dominguez Hills came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking. CSUDH is a fairly large public school situated in Carson, California. In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, California State University - Dominguez Hills is ranked #65 for quality in the state of California. Read full value report on California State University - Dominguez Hills With a ranking of #19, California State University - Fresno did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. California State University - Fresno is a large public school located in Fresno, California. California State University - Fresno has the honor of being ranked #55 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Learn More About Value at California State University - Fresno University of California - Davis ranked #20 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school. University of California - Davis has the honor of being ranked #13 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value.17
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Sonoma State University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking. SSU is a public institution located in Rohnert Park, California.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Sonoma State University is ranked #77 for quality in the state of California.
California State University - Northridge ranked #22 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region list. This large public school is located in Northridge, California. Not only is California State University - Northridge a great value, but it is also ranked #45 in California for overall quality. University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #23. Located in Santa Barbara, California, the school is a large public institution. University of California - Santa Barbara has the honor of being ranked #11 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value. Heritage University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking. Heritage University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Toppenish, Washington. Not only is Heritage University a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in Washington for overall quality. University of Puget Sound landed the #25 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in Tacoma, Washington, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution. In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Puget Sound is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Washington.22
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.