Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

20 Colleges
$20,476 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$68,987 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Civil Engineering School for You

Civil Engineering is the #28 most popular major in California with 1,035 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 20 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for civil eng students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Civil Engineering Colleges.

Top 10 Best Civil Engineering Schools

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for civil engineering students. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

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

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in California list.

Full Civil Engineering at San Jose State University Report

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 20 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the # 2 spot on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in California list.

Read More…

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in California list. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

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

Read More…

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Full Civil Engineering at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 20 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a very large student population.

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

Full Civil Engineering at California State University - Fresno Report

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, San Diego State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for civil engineering students. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Civil Engineering at San Diego State University Report

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Sacramento ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Civil Engineering Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at California State University - Sacramento

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Northridge did quite well on this year’s best value schools for civil engineering students. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUN are $7,043 a year.

Full Civil Engineering at California State University - Northridge Report

$14,700 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - San Diego landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value civil engineering programs. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCSD are $14,700 a year.

Full Civil Engineering at University of California - San Diego Report

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for civil engineering students. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $13,258 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UCLA is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Civil Engineering Schools in California list.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at University of California - Los Angeles

Best Value Civil Engineering Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 209
Oregon 98
Nevada 55
Hawaii 23
Alaska 11

One of 39 majors within the area of study, civil engineering has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Civil Eng

Related Major Annual Graduates
Electrical Engineering 11,021
Mechanical Engineering 9,007
Computer Engineering 5,557
Biomedical Engineering 4,252
General Engineering 3,548

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 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 Master Sgt. Roger Parsons.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.