California Best Colleges Comparison

View the California Best Colleges Comparison and compare the schools with key academic characteristics such as tuition and test scores to get right decision.
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Colleges In California Statistics

There are 861 colleges in California - 201 public and 660 private schools. The 2023 average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $20,208 and the average graduate tuition & fees is $22,352. The average SAT scores of enrolled students is 1,273 and the average acceptance rate is 66% for California Best Colleges Comparison.
The next table shows the key academic facts for all colleges in California. You may want to check more statistics and compare all California colleges at California Statistics page.
2021-2022 Colleges In California Statistics
Top 20 colleges in CaliforniaAll colleges in California
Number of Schools20 schools
(6 public, 14 private)
861 schools
(201 public, 660 private)
Undergraduate Tuition & Fees$14,353 (in-state)
$52,954 (out-of-state)
$3,888 (in-state)
$20,208 (out-of-state)
Graduate Tuition & Fees$13,854 (in-state)
$41,792 (out-of-state)
$11,472 (in-state)
$22,352 (out-of-state)
Average Financial Aid$29,579$7,059
Test Scores1,436 SAT, 32 ACT 1,273 SAT, 28 ACT
Acceptance Rate28.91% 66.07%
Yield (Enrollment Rate)38.14% 36.89%
Population343,8812,600,794
Undergraduate238,2462,265,795
Graduate105,635334,999
Graduation Rate88.75%60.10%
Transfer-out Rate5.75%9.60%
Students to Faculty Ratio11.80 to 117.67 to 1

Top Colleges In California Comparison

The next table lists the top 20 colleges in California for academic year 2021-2022. Stanford University ranked top in the California Best Colleges Comparison and California Institute of Technology and Pomona College follows it. The 2023 average tuition & fees is $52,954 for undergraduate programs $41,792 for graduate programs. The average SAT score of the top colleges in California is 1,436 and the acceptance rate is 28.91%. The average students to faculty ratio is 11.80 to 1 for top colleges in California. You can sort the schools by clicking column name that you want to sort.
2021-2022 Top colleges in California Comparison
Rank*NameTuition & FeesAverage Financial AidPopulationAcceptance RateTest ScoresStudents to Faculty Ratio
1 Stanford University
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Private, 4-yearsStanford, CA
$58,416 $50,762 18,2834% 1,550 SAT
35 ACT
5 to 1
2 California Institute of Technology
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Private, 4-yearsPasadena, CA
$60,864 $43,064 2,4013% - 3 to 1
3 Pomona College
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Private, 4-yearsClaremont, CA
$59,238 $51,797 1,7167% 1,520 SAT
34 ACT
7 to 1
4 Claremont McKenna College
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Private, 4-yearsClaremont, CA
$60,715 $39,810 1,38910% 1,510 SAT
34 ACT
8 to 1
5 University of California-Los Angeles
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Public, 4-yearsLos Angeles, CA
$43,473
($13,401)
$19,994 46,4309% - 18 to 1
6 University of California-Berkeley
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Public, 4-yearsBerkeley, CA
$44,467
($14,395)
$21,056 45,30711% - 19 to 1
7 University of Southern California
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Private, 4-yearsLos Angeles, CA
$64,726 $41,493 48,94512% 1,520 SAT
34 ACT
9 to 1
8 Harvey Mudd College
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Private, 4-yearsClaremont, CA
$62,817 $32,162 92213% 1,530 SAT
35 ACT
8 to 1
9 Soka University of America
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Private, 4-yearsAliso Viejo, CA
$35,544 $30,934 45557% 1,350 SAT
26 ACT
7 to 1
10 Scripps College
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Private, 4-yearsClaremont, CA
$60,712 $20,560 1,09928% 1,460 SAT
33 ACT
10 to 1
11 University of California-San Diego
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Public, 4-yearsLa Jolla, CA
$44,978
($14,906)
$19,225 42,00624% - 19 to 1
12 Thomas Aquinas College
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Private, 4-yearsSanta Paula, CA
$27,000 $13,790 51685% 1,310 SAT
30 ACT
11 to 1
13 Pitzer College
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Private, 4-yearsClaremont, CA
$60,578 $38,317 1,21218% - 10 to 1
14 University of California-Santa Barbara
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Public, 4-yearsSanta Barbara, CA
$44,689
($14,617)
$18,341 26,42026% - 17 to 1
15 University of California-Irvine
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Public, 4-yearsIrvine, CA
$44,011
($13,939)
$18,687 35,93721% - 18 to 1
16 University of California-Davis
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Public, 4-yearsDavis, CA
$44,930
($14,858)
$18,164 39,67937% - 21 to 1
17 Santa Clara University
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Private, 4-yearsSanta Clara, CA
$57,534 $26,457 9,17852% 1,364 SAT
31 ACT
12 to 1
18 Pepperdine University
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Private, 4-yearsMalibu, CA
$63,142 $30,938 10,03049% 1,390 SAT
31 ACT
13 to 1
19 Chapman University
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Private, 4-yearsOrange, CA
$60,672 $26,741 10,01473% 1,300 SAT
29 ACT
12 to 1
20 Occidental College
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Private, 4-yearsLos Angeles, CA
$60,566 $29,286 1,94239% 1,430 SAT
32 ACT
9 to 1
Average$52,954
($14,353)
$29,579 343,88128.91% 1,436 SAT
32.0000 ACT
11.80 to 1
*Ranking data provided by CollegeEvaluator.
All data used in our site is from IPEDS (The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), U.S. Department of Education, academic year 2021-2022