1
San Diego State University earned the #1 spot in this year's Best Colleges for Veterans ranking in California. The school's overall veterans score is 87.8 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0.
by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re a veteran, service member, or military-affiliated student looking for a college that has your back, you’ve come to the right place. The ranking below was designed to help you find 492 institutions ranked on how well they support veterans in California, using our 2026 methodology.
We measure this ranking on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students: affordability and veteran financial benefits, academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community. So you can compare your options, College Factual evaluated 492 colleges, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard). Learn more about our ranking methodology.
The right college for a veteran depends on what matters most to you. Narrow your list by location, or explore our other rankings below.
Want to compare schools head to head? Check out College Combat to weigh schools on the factors you care about most.
Explore the leading colleges for veterans below:
San Diego State University earned the #1 spot in this year's Best Colleges for Veterans ranking in California. The school's overall veterans score is 87.8 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0.
Veteran and military students will find strong support at California State University-Long Beach, which ranked #2 this year. It scores 86.7 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0.
California Institute of Arts & Technology earned the #3 place in California. On our overall veterans measure, it scores 86.0 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7.
A rank of #4 makes University of California-Santa Barbara one of the best colleges for veterans in California. On our overall veterans measure, it scores 85.8 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7.
Saddleback College earned the #5 place in California. The school's overall veterans score is 85.5 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0.
University of California-Santa Cruz came in at #6 in this year's ranking. The school's overall veterans score is 85.2 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-resources score.
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo landed the #7 spot in California this year. It scores 84.6 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Veteran affordability scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-resources score.
San Francisco State University ranked #8 on our 2026 list of the best colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 83.8 out of 100. Veteran affordability scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7.
Citrus College landed the #9 spot in California this year. On our overall veterans measure, it scores 83.2 out of 100. Veteran affordability scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 100.0.
California State University-Northridge ranked #10 on our 2026 list of the best colleges for veterans. On our overall veterans measure, it scores 82.5 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
San Jose State University ranked #11 on our 2026 list of the best colleges for veterans. On our overall veterans measure, it scores 82.0 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
Southwestern College landed the #12 spot in California this year. The school's overall veterans score is 81.8 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
National University earned the #13 position in California. National University scores 81.1 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7.
California State University-Sacramento earned the #14 position in California. California State University-Sacramento scores 80.7 out of 100 for veteran support overall. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
California State University-Fullerton landed the #15 spot in California this year. The school's overall veterans score is 80.3 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
Golden Gate University earned the #16 position in California. The school's overall veterans score is 80.3 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 86.8, alongside a 66.7 veteran-resources score.
Sonoma State University placed #17 among the best colleges for veterans in California. It scores 80.3 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-resources score.
College of San Mateo placed #18 among the best colleges for veterans in California. The school's overall veterans score is 79.6 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7.
University of California-Los Angeles came in at #19 in this year's ranking. The school's overall veterans score is 79.4 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
Lionel University earned the #20 position in California. Lionel University scores 79.3 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 33.3 veteran-resources score.
MiraCosta College landed the #21 spot in California this year. The school's overall veterans score is 79.3 out of 100. Veteran affordability scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
California State University Maritime Academy earned the #22 position in California. It scores 79.0 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-resources score.
Foothill College placed #23 among the best colleges for veterans in California. On our overall veterans measure, it scores 78.8 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7.
University of California-Irvine earned the #24 position in California. On our overall veterans measure, it scores 78.7 out of 100. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-resources score.
Rio Hondo College placed #25 among the best colleges for veterans in California. It scores 78.7 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On affordability for veterans it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-resources score.
These colleges also placed near the top this year:
To learn more about the colleges below, just click on their names:
| Rank | College | Veterans Score |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | West Coast University-Orange County | 75.2 |
| 52 | Stanford University | 75.1 |
| 53 | Solano Community College | 74.9 |
| 54 | University of Massachusetts Global | 74.8 |
| 55 | Mayfield College | 74.7 |
| 56 | Modesto Junior College | 74.6 |
| 57 | Biola University | 74.6 |
| 58 | San Diego Global Knowledge University | 74.5 |
| 59 | Alliant International University-San Diego | 74.3 |
| 60 | Ventura College | 74.3 |
| 61 | California Miramar University | 74.0 |
| 62 | Los Angeles City College | 73.8 |
| 63 | University of Redlands | 73.8 |
| 64 | United States University | 73.7 |
| 65 | California State University-Fresno | 73.6 |
| Rank | College | Veterans Score |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | University of California-Berkeley | 73.4 |
| 67 | The Fab School | 73.1 |
| 68 | Chabot College | 73.0 |
| 69 | Bakersfield College | 73.0 |
| 70 | Southern California University of Health Sciences | 72.9 |
| 71 | California Lutheran University | 72.9 |
| 72 | San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia | 72.7 |
| 73 | California State University-Los Angeles | 72.7 |
| 74 | California State University-East Bay | 72.6 |
These colleges narrowly missed the top tiers:
| Rank | College | Veterans Score |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | Irvine Valley College | 72.5 |
| 76 | East Los Angeles College | 72.5 |
| 77 | Butte College | 72.5 |
| 78 | Riverside City College | 72.3 |
| 79 | Victor Valley College | 72.2 |
| 80 | Palo Alto University | 72.2 |
| 81 | California State University-Channel Islands | 71.7 |
| 82 | California Baptist University | 71.7 |
| 83 | Vanguard University of Southern California | 71.7 |
| 84 | Santa Ana College | 71.7 |
| 85 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | 71.7 |
| 86 | California State University-Dominguez Hills | 71.6 |
| 87 | West Valley College | 71.6 |
| 88 | Westcliff University | 71.5 |
| 89 | San Diego Miramar College | 71.4 |
| Rank | College | Veterans Score |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | Santa Rosa Junior College | 71.4 |
| 91 | Cuyamaca College | 71.1 |
| 92 | UEI College-Riverside | 71.1 |
| 93 | California State University-Stanislaus | 71.0 |
| 94 | City College of San Francisco | 71.0 |
| 95 | Pacific Union College | 70.9 |
| 96 | University of Southern California | 70.9 |
| 97 | The Master’s University and Seminary | 70.8 |
| 98 | Mission College | 70.7 |
| 99 | Folsom Lake College | 70.6 |
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is based on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students: affordability and veteran financial benefits, academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
See our data sources and methodologies.
