2026 Best Small Colleges in California

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

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

Showing 1–25 of 36 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

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$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Small Colleges

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

Acceptance rate

3.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$56,364

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#2 Best Small Colleges

Samuel Merritt University

Oakland

Acceptance rate

81.0%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$48,270

Avg. Cost after Aid

N/A

#3 Best Small Colleges

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda

Acceptance rate

93.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,736

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,821

#4 Best Small Colleges

Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

13.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$60,402

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#5 Best Small Colleges

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

11.1%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$57,876

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#6 Best Small Colleges

Minerva University

San Francisco

Acceptance rate

3.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$21,630

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,556

#7 Best Small Colleges

Pomona College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

6.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$56,284

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#8 Best Small Colleges

Scripps College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

33.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$58,224

Avg. Cost after Aid

$45,000

#9 Best Small Colleges

Occidental College

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

39.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,830

Avg. Cost after Aid

$43,000

#10 Best Small Colleges

Golden Gate University

San Francisco

Acceptance rate

31.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,088

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,821

#11 Best Small Colleges

Dominican University of California

San Rafael

Acceptance rate

95.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$47,190

Avg. Cost after Aid

$45,000

#12 Best Small Colleges

Pitzer College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

16.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,686

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#13 Best Small Colleges

ArtCenter College of Design

Pasadena

Acceptance rate

76.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$47,334

Avg. Cost after Aid

$50,000

#14 Best Small Colleges

Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga

Acceptance rate

88.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$51,568

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#15 Best Small Colleges

Westmont College

Santa Barbara

Acceptance rate

79.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$47,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#16 Best Small Colleges

University of Redlands

Redlands

Acceptance rate

80.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,150

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#17 Best Small Colleges

Azusa Pacific University

Azusa

Acceptance rate

79.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$40,830

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#18 Best Small Colleges

California State University--Maritime Academy

Vallejo

Acceptance rate

98.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#19 Best Small Colleges

La Sierra University

Riverside

Acceptance rate

93.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,228

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#20 Best Small Colleges

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks

Acceptance rate

88.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$45,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#21 Best Small Colleges

Pacific Union College

Angwin

Acceptance rate

42.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$31,101

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#22 Best Small Colleges

Woodbury University

Burbank

Acceptance rate

72.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$41,924

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,248

#23 Best Small Colleges

Fresno Pacific University

Fresno

Acceptance rate

57.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$32,954

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#24 Best Small Colleges

The Master's University and Seminary

Santa Clarita

Acceptance rate

75.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$27,950

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#25 Best Small Colleges

Laguna College of Art and Design

Laguna Beach

Acceptance rate

95.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$33,600

Avg. Cost after Aid

$41,000

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