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.

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