2026 Best Colleges for Education in California

Name: 2026 Best Colleges for Education in California (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

48 California schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Colleges for Education ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 48 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Colleges for Education

University of California - Irvine

Irvine

Acceptance rate

28.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$19,268

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#2 Best Colleges for Education

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

9.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#3 Best Colleges for Education

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla

Acceptance rate

26.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#4 Best Colleges for Education

California Polytechnic State University--San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

Acceptance rate

31.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#5 Best Colleges for Education

University of La Verne

La Verne

Acceptance rate

48.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$44,700

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#6 Best Colleges for Education

University of California - Riverside

Riverside

Acceptance rate

76.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#7 Best Colleges for Education

University of California - Davis

Davis

Acceptance rate

41.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#8 Best Colleges for Education

California State University--Fullerton

Fullerton

Acceptance rate

90.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$5,000

#9 Best Colleges for Education

San Jose State University

San Jose

Acceptance rate

80.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,874

#10 Best Colleges for Education

California State Polytechnic University--Pomona

Pomona

Acceptance rate

73.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#11 Best Colleges for Education

University of the Pacific

Stockton

Acceptance rate

71.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$51,628

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#12 Best Colleges for Education

California State University, Sacramento

Sacramento

Acceptance rate

93.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$8,000

#13 Best Colleges for Education

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

Acceptance rate

65.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#14 Best Colleges for Education

San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus

Calexico

Acceptance rate

44.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,622

Avg. Cost after Aid

$8,622

#15 Best Colleges for Education

Fresno Pacific University

Fresno

Acceptance rate

57.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$32,954

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#16 Best Colleges for Education

Point Loma Nazarene University

San Diego

Acceptance rate

81.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$38,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,000

#17 Best Colleges for Education

Chapman University

Orange

Acceptance rate

55.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$58,250

Avg. Cost after Aid

$40,000

#18 Best Colleges for Education

Dominican University of California

San Rafael

Acceptance rate

95.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$47,190

Avg. Cost after Aid

$45,000

#19 Best Colleges for Education

Pepperdine University

Malibu

Acceptance rate

49.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$41,000

#20 Best Colleges for Education

San Francisco State University

San Francisco

Acceptance rate

96.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#21 Best Colleges for Education

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park

Acceptance rate

94.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$7,000

#22 Best Colleges for Education

Pitzer College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

16.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,686

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#23 Best Colleges for Education

California State University--Long Beach

Long Beach

Acceptance rate

46.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$9,000

#24 Best Colleges for Education

University of Redlands

Redlands

Acceptance rate

80.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,150

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#25 Best Colleges for Education

California State University, Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

91.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

N/A

2026 Best Colleges for Education in California

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