2026 Best Return on Investment in California

Name: 2026 Best Return on Investment in California (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

82 California schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Return on Investment ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 82 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 Return on Investment

Stanford University

Stanford

Acceptance rate

3.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,473

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#2 Best Return on Investment

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

#3 Best Return on Investment

University of California - Irvine

Irvine

Acceptance rate

28.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$19,268

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#4 Best Return on Investment

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

#5 Best Return on Investment

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

Acceptance rate

11.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#6 Best Return on Investment

Samuel Merritt University

Oakland

Acceptance rate

81.0%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$48,270

Avg. Cost after Aid

N/A

#7 Best Return on Investment

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Acceptance rate

33.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#8 Best Return on Investment

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 Return on Investment

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

#10 Best Return on Investment

University of California - Davis

Davis

Acceptance rate

41.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#11 Best Return on Investment

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

Acceptance rate

93.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,736

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,821

#12 Best Return on Investment

California State Polytechnic University--Pomona

Pomona

Acceptance rate

73.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#13 Best Return on Investment

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

#14 Best Return on Investment

San Jose State University

San Jose

Acceptance rate

80.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,874

#15 Best Return on Investment

California State University--Stanislaus

Turlock

Acceptance rate

98.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$7,000

#16 Best Return on Investment

University of California - Riverside

Riverside

Acceptance rate

76.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#17 Best Return on Investment

University of California - Merced

Merced

Acceptance rate

91.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#18 Best Return on Investment

California State University, Sacramento

Sacramento

Acceptance rate

93.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$8,000

#19 Best Return on Investment

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

Acceptance rate

3.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$56,364

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#20 Best Return on Investment

California State University, Fresno

Fresno

Acceptance rate

96.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$6,000

#21 Best Return on Investment

Pomona College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

6.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$56,284

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#22 Best Return on Investment

California State University--San Bernardino

San Bernardino

Acceptance rate

93.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$3,000

#23 Best Return on Investment

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

#24 Best Return on Investment

California State University--Northridge

Northridge

Acceptance rate

91.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$9,000

#25 Best Return on Investment

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

2026 Best Return on Investment in California

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