College Deliberately: Ranked colleges in California

A very large state with a very large population, California has 395 colleges and universities, 153 of which are public, 149 are private-not-for-profit and 93 are private-for-profit. The distribution of undergraduate students in these colleges is compared to national averages.

• 4 year
• 2 year

California has approximately 6.5 undergraduate seats per 100 residents, which is higher than the national average of 5.4 seats per 100 state residents.

California colleges are, on average, less expensive than colleges in other states. Public institutions are less expensive than the national average for public colleges. Private not-for-profit institutions are less expensive than the national average for private not-for-profit colleges. Private for-profit institutions are less expensive than the national average for private for-profit colleges.
Browse the most and least expensive colleges in California