State Rankings

Best Colleges in California

Top colleges in California ranked by national standing and graduate outcomes — updated 2026.

Colleges listed: 50

Avg grad earnings: $78,637

Public / Private: 20 / 30

Top Colleges in California

Nationally ranked schools appear first. Remaining schools are ordered by median graduate earnings.

State #	School	Type	Grad Earnings	Admit Rate	SAT Avg	Grad Rate	Out-of-State
1	Stanford University Stanford#3 national	Private	$124,080	3.9%	1,553	92.8%	$62,484
2	Caltech Pasadena#5 national	Private	$128,566	3.1%	N/A	93.2%	$63,255
3	UCLA Los Angeles#6 national	Public	$82,511	8.7%	N/A	92.7%	$44,524
4	Pomona College Claremont#13 national	Private	$77,779	6.8%	1,520	93.2%	$62,326
5	Claremont McKenna College Claremont#19 national	Private	$104,736	11.1%	1,514	95.2%	$64,150
6	USC Los Angeles#26 national	Private	$92,498	10.0%	1,501	92.0%	$68,237
7	UC Berkeley Berkeley#36 national	Public	$92,446	11.7%	N/A	92.9%	$45,627
8	UC Davis Davis#40 national	Public	$80,838	41.6%	N/A	85.1%	$46,024
9	UC Irvine Irvine#47 national	Public	$80,735	25.6%	N/A	86.0%	$45,014
10	UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara#48 national	Public	$74,915	27.8%	N/A	85.3%	$45,742
11	Cal Poly SLO San Luis Obispo#52 national	Public	$90,768	29.8%	N/A	85.2%	$30,995
12	Santa Clara University Santa Clara#54 national	Private	$109,183	43.8%	1,417	88.4%	$59,241
13	UC San Diego La Jolla#57 national	Public	$84,943	24.5%	N/A	87.6%	$46,042
14	Harvey Mudd College Claremont#72 national	Private	$138,687	13.1%	1,537	93.8%	$66,255
15	UC Santa Cruz Santa Cruz#99 national	Public	$68,396	62.5%	N/A	74.5%	$45,337
16	Scripps College Claremont#102 national	Private	$77,539	33.9%	1,480	87.1%	$63,434
17	Occidental College Los Angeles#116 national	Private	$75,951	39.9%	1,461	85.1%	$63,446
18	Pitzer College Claremont#119 national	Private	$69,512	16.7%	N/A	83.2%	$62,692
19	San Diego State University San Diego#123 national	Public	$64,909	34.4%	N/A	78.3%	$20,170
20	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach#125 national	Public	$64,403	47.1%	N/A	69.9%	$18,888
21	University of California-Riverside Riverside#143 national	Public	$67,699	63.3%	N/A	76.6%	$44,947
22	Pepperdine University Malibu#144 national	Private	$82,939	49.9%	1,367	84.7%	$66,742
23	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona#151 national	Public	$71,902	73.7%	N/A	66.7%	$19,319
24	University of San Diego San Diego#163 national	Private	$86,522	46.8%	N/A	81.6%	$56,444
25	Minerva University San Francisco#189 national	Private	N/A	3.5%	N/A	88.8%	$18,700
26	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles#194 national	Private	$78,349	40.3%	N/A	79.8%	$58,974
27	San Jose State University San Jose#207 national	Public	$78,988	80.2%	N/A	64.6%	$19,872
28	Thomas Aquinas College Santa Paula#213 national	Private	$55,619	78.7%	1,277	82.0%	$28,700
29	University of California-Merced Merced#215 national	Public	$64,368	39.2%	N/A	69.2%	$44,944
30	Chapman University Orange#236 national	Private	$70,070	55.6%	1,353	80.4%	$62,784
31	University of Redlands Redlands#258 national	Private	$72,690	80.9%	1,231	70.7%	$57,614
32	Art Center College of Design Pasadena#283 national	Private	$71,958	75.0%	N/A	82.6%	$51,640
33	University of San Francisco San Francisco#297 national	Private	$89,812	50.8%	1,313	71.1%	$58,222
34	Northeastern University Oakland Oakland#301 national	Private	$92,538	16.5%	1,472	N/A	$63,949
35	Saint Mary's College of California Moraga#313 national	Private	$78,812	88.6%	N/A	69.0%	$56,134
36	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo#320 national	Public	$94,784	98.7%	N/A	66.8%	$19,552
37	Azusa Pacific University Azusa#324 national	Private	$66,677	79.5%	1,155	64.4%	$43,600
38	University of La Verne La Verne#326 national	Private	$65,464	48.5%	1,116	65.5%	$47,000
39	California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks#333 national	Private	$68,712	88.9%	1,224	74.0%	$50,670
40	Dominican University of California San Rafael#339 national	Private	$84,713	95.6%	1,194	76.3%	$50,666
41	Westmont College Santa Barbara#343 national	Private	$64,778	79.9%	1,367	70.1%	$51,790
42	Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego#345 national	Private	$63,998	81.8%	1,278	73.8%	$43,550
43	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton#354 national	Public	$62,951	86.7%	N/A	69.2%	$18,953
44	California State University-Chico Chico#378 national	Public	$64,172	93.7%	N/A	63.6%	$19,944
45	Pacific Union College Angwin#388 national	Private	$70,484	42.5%	1,093	51.5%	$35,214
46	Biola University La Mirada#391 national	Private	$56,778	60.1%	1,258	68.8%	$46,704
47	Foothill College Los Altos Hills#394 national	Public	$57,072	N/A	N/A	60.0%	$12,320
48	Fresno Pacific University Fresno#410 national	Private	$58,896	57.5%	N/A	55.9%	$35,558
49	California State University-Stanislaus Turlock#422 national	Public	$63,188	97.5%	N/A	58.0%	$19,706
50	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento#444 national	Public	$64,876	93.6%	N/A	55.8%	$19,482

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Excludes for-profit institutions.

Compare any two colleges

Use CollegeBound's interactive compare tool to see admissions, costs, and outcome data side by side for any schools in California or beyond.

Open Compare Tool

Best Colleges in Other States

Alabama→Alaska→Arizona→Arkansas→Colorado→Connecticut→Delaware→District of Columbia→

← National Rankings