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Best Value General Education Schools in California

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2023 Best Value General Education Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

50 Colleges
$10,521 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$58,160 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, general education was ranked 2nd in California. In fact, 7,063 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which teaching program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Teaching Degree Search has created its Best Value General Education Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 50 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for education 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 General Education Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value General Education Colleges.

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. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Sac State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Education Schools in California list.

Read full report on General Education at California State University - Sacramento

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 50 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 2 spot on the list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.

Read More…

$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. CSUCI is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Camarillo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUCI are $6,817 a year.

Full General Education at California State University - Channel Islands Report

$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. Located in the 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.

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$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in California list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year.

Read More…

$7,727 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - San Marcos. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSM are $7,727 a year.

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

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

Cal State Fullerton undergraduate students pay an average of $6,976 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on General Education at California State University - Fullerton

$7,213 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - San Bernardino came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in California ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public school with a large student population.

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 ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in California list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

Read More…

$7,579 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, California State University - Bakersfield did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. CSUB is a large public school located in the city of Bakersfield.

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 728
Oregon 767
Nevada 36
Hawaii 64
Alaska 26

One of 14 majors within the teaching area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Education Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Education 29,810

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 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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