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Best Value General Education Schools in California

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2023 Best Value General Education Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

48 Colleges
$10,681 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$58,160 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education School for You

In 2020-2021, general education students earned 6,275 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value General Education Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 48 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value General Education Schools in California

Check out the education programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best General Education Schools

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found California State University - Sacramento to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a degree in California. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at California State University - Sacramento Report

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for general education students. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at California State University - Long Beach Report

$6,817 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Channel Islands is a great value for general education students. Located in the suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

CSUCI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,817 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on General Education at California State University - Channel Islands

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in California. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$7,727 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - San Marcos. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in California list. CSUSM is a large public school located in the suburb of San Marcos.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUSM are $7,727 per year.

Read More…

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Fresno is a great value for general education students. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at California State University - Fresno Report

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fullerton landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year.

Read More…

$7,213 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. CSUSB is a large public school located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.

CSUSB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,213 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on General Education at California State University - San Bernardino

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

San Jose State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.

San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best General Education Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on General Education at San Jose State University

$7,579 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Bakersfield did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUB are $7,579 a year.

Full General Education at California State University - Bakersfield Report

Best Value General Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 419
Oregon 367
Nevada 36
Hawaii 10
Alaska 26

General Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Education

Related Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
Special Education 25,158
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 26 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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