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Best Value Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

41 Colleges
$8,813 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$65,643 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree School for You

Computer Science is the most popular major in California with 13,148 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which computer science program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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, Computer Science Degree Search has created its Best Value Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 41 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for compsci students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Computer Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Computer Science Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo the best value school in California for computer science students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each year. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $464.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 20% of our Best Computer Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for computer science students working on their bachelor’s degree. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year. The average amount in student loans that compsci majors at UC Berkeley take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $14,717. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $386.

UC Berkeley also made our Best Computer Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #5.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Channel Islands is a great value for computer science students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSUCI is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Camarillo.

CSUCI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,817 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that compsci majors at CSUCI take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $22,127.

Full Computer Science at California State University - Channel Islands Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great value for computer science students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. CompSci majors at CSULB take out an average of $18,120 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Computer Science at California State University - Long Beach

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a great value for computer science students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, compsci majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $18,459 in student debt.

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California State University - Chico did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for computer science students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Chico State is a large public school located in the midsize city of Chico.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Chico State are $7,864 a year. On average, compsci graduates from Chico State take out $20,453 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Computer Science at California State University - Chico

With a ranking of #7, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their bachelor’s degree. 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.

Full Computer Science at San Jose State University Report

California State University - Monterey Bay came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUMB are $7,218 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, compsci majors at CSUMB accumulate an average of around $16,556 in student debt.

Full Computer Science at California State University - Monterey Bay Report

California State University - Northridge ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, compsci graduates from CSUN carry an average student debtload of $19,348.

Full Computer Science at California State University - Northridge Report

With a ranking of #10, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. On average, compsci graduates from Sac State take out $19,221 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Computer Science at California State University - Sacramento Report

Best Value Computer Science Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Computer Science Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,551
Oregon 1,282
Nevada 152
Hawaii 152
Alaska 31

Computer Science is one of 10 different types of computer science programs to choose from.

CompSci Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Computer Science 59,565

Majors Similar to CompSci

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Information Technology 40,555
Information Science 18,325
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

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 Negative Space.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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