Best colleges for engineering in California

    University of California-Berkeley ranks first in California for engineering value (#3 nationally, value score 91.2): graduates earn $200,543 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $14,538 a year.

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard field of study, reporting year 2025 · 33 California colleges ranked · Updated November 4, 2026

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    Best engineering colleges in California

    University of California-Berkeley ranks first in California for engineering value (#3 nationally, value score 91.2): graduates earn $200,543 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $14,538 a year. 33 California colleges qualify. At the median one, engineering graduates earn $102,104 and the average net price is $13,866 a year.

    Source: U.S. College Scorecard field of study, 2025

    What the data shows

    Key findings

    • 33 California colleges qualify. At the median one, engineering graduates earn $102,104 and the average net price is $13,866 a year.
    • The lowest average net price among them is at California State University-Los Angeles: $2,385 a year.
    Median earnings
    $102,104
    National: $91,742
    Median net price
    $13,866
    National: $17,499
    Median federal debt
    $16,179
    engineering graduates
    Public colleges
    25 of 33
    in this list

    33 colleges

    The California ranking

    Ordered by the national value score; the national rank is shown with each college. Earnings are medians 4 years after the bachelor's degree.

    1. Rank in California 1

      University of California-Berkeley

      Berkeley, CA · Public · #3 nationally

      91.2Value
      Earnings
      $200,543
      Net price
      $14,538
      Federal debt
      $13,548
      Graduation rate
      94%
    2. Rank in California 2

      Stanford University

      Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit · #6 nationally

      89.5Value
      Earnings
      $115,206
      Net price
      $12,307
      Federal debt
      Not reported
      Graduation rate
      92%
    3. Rank in California 3

      University of California-San Diego

      La Jolla, CA · Public · #7 nationally

      88.7Value
      Earnings
      $149,139
      Net price
      $14,794
      Federal debt
      $13,000
      Graduation rate
      86%
    4. Rank in California 4

      University of California-Irvine

      Irvine, CA · Public · #8 nationally

      88.6Value
      Earnings
      $132,357
      Net price
      $13,866
      Federal debt
      $15,500
      Graduation rate
      87%
    5. Rank in California 5

      University of California-Los Angeles

      Los Angeles, CA · Public · #11 nationally

      85.9Value
      Earnings
      $108,875
      Net price
      $14,659
      Federal debt
      $13,315
      Graduation rate
      93%
    6. Rank in California 6

      University of California-Davis

      Davis, CA · Public · #16 nationally

      82.9Value
      Earnings
      $102,161
      Net price
      $14,318
      Federal debt
      $12,060
      Graduation rate
      86%
    7. Rank in California 7

      University of California-Merced

      Merced, CA · Public · #23 nationally

      81.1Value
      Earnings
      $102,575
      Net price
      $11,583
      Federal debt
      $13,536
      Graduation rate
      68%
    8. Rank in California 8

      University of California-Santa Barbara

      Santa Barbara, CA · Public · #31 nationally

      79.1Value
      Earnings
      $104,336
      Net price
      $16,807
      Federal debt
      $12,583
      Graduation rate
      84%
    9. Rank in California 9

      Sonoma State University

      Rohnert Park, CA · Public · #33 nationally

      78.2Value
      Earnings
      $112,757
      Net price
      $10,759
      Federal debt
      Not reported
      Graduation rate
      55%
    10. Rank in California 10

      California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

      Pomona, CA · Public · #34 nationally

      78.2Value
      Earnings
      $97,790
      Net price
      $9,404
      Federal debt
      $14,500
      Graduation rate
      68%
    11. Rank in California 11

      California State University-Northridge

      Northridge, CA · Public · #35 nationally

      77.9Value
      Earnings
      $99,216
      Net price
      $6,346
      Federal debt
      $13,350
      Graduation rate
      57%
    12. Rank in California 12

      California State University-Long Beach

      Long Beach, CA · Public · #36 nationally

      77.4Value
      Earnings
      $95,957
      Net price
      $9,426
      Federal debt
      $13,500
      Graduation rate
      70%
    13. Rank in California 13

      University of California-Santa Cruz

      Santa Cruz, CA · Public · #37 nationally

      77.1Value
      Earnings
      $124,641
      Net price
      $18,549
      Federal debt
      $18,146
      Graduation rate
      74%
    14. Rank in California 14

      San Diego State University

      San Diego, CA · Public · #38 nationally

      77.1Value
      Earnings
      $97,825
      Net price
      $13,243
      Federal debt
      $15,000
      Graduation rate
      78%
    15. Rank in California 15

      California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

      San Luis Obispo, CA · Public · #39 nationally

      76.6Value
      Earnings
      $106,750
      Net price
      $18,832
      Federal debt
      $17,000
      Graduation rate
      87%
    16. Rank in California 16

      San Francisco State University

      San Francisco, CA · Public · #44 nationally

      74.0Value
      Earnings
      $102,104
      Net price
      $9,803
      Federal debt
      $18,500
      Graduation rate
      50%
    17. Rank in California 17

      Santa Clara University

      Santa Clara, CA · Private nonprofit · #48 nationally

      72.5Value
      Earnings
      $163,765
      Net price
      $36,116
      Federal debt
      $24,500
      Graduation rate
      87%
    18. Rank in California 18

      California State University-Bakersfield

      Bakersfield, CA · Public · #54 nationally

      70.8Value
      Earnings
      $97,998
      Net price
      $4,001
      Federal debt
      Not reported
      Graduation rate
      48%
    19. Rank in California 19

      California State University Maritime Academy

      Vallejo, CA · Public · #55 nationally

      70.6Value
      Earnings
      $126,395
      Net price
      $17,793
      Federal debt
      $23,147
      Graduation rate
      58%
    20. Rank in California 20

      University of Southern California

      Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · #61 nationally

      68.7Value
      Earnings
      $104,649
      Net price
      $33,056
      Federal debt
      $15,858
      Graduation rate
      90%
    21. Rank in California 21

      California State University-Los Angeles

      Los Angeles, CA · Public · #62 nationally

      68.1Value
      Earnings
      $93,028
      Net price
      $2,385
      Federal debt
      $13,500
      Graduation rate
      55%
    22. Rank in California 22

      California State University-Sacramento

      Sacramento, CA · Public · #69 nationally

      65.9Value
      Earnings
      $93,973
      Net price
      $11,186
      Federal debt
      $16,500
      Graduation rate
      54%
    23. Rank in California 23

      Harvey Mudd College

      Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit · #71 nationally

      65.7Value
      Earnings
      $122,845
      Net price
      $39,347
      Federal debt
      $26,000
      Graduation rate
      93%
    24. Rank in California 24

      University of California-Riverside

      Riverside, CA · Public · #72 nationally

      65.7Value
      Earnings
      $93,721
      Net price
      $12,672
      Federal debt
      $19,958
      Graduation rate
      75%
    25. Rank in California 25

      California State University-Chico

      Chico, CA · Public · #94 nationally

      60.0Value
      Earnings
      $93,555
      Net price
      $14,157
      Federal debt
      $18,000
      Graduation rate
      60%
    26. Rank in California 26

      California State University-San Bernardino

      San Bernardino, CA · Public · #101 nationally

      57.8Value
      Earnings
      $92,492
      Net price
      $3,946
      Federal debt
      $21,675
      Graduation rate
      53%
    27. Rank in California 27

      California State University-Fullerton

      Fullerton, CA · Public · #107 nationally

      56.6Value
      Earnings
      $86,808
      Net price
      $5,115
      Federal debt
      $14,000
      Graduation rate
      68%
    28. Rank in California 28

      University of the Pacific

      Stockton, CA · Private nonprofit · #108 nationally

      56.5Value
      Earnings
      $99,573
      Net price
      $24,186
      Federal debt
      $24,052
      Graduation rate
      73%
    29. Rank in California 29

      California State University-Fresno

      Fresno, CA · Public · #109 nationally

      56.3Value
      Earnings
      $87,627
      Net price
      $5,418
      Federal debt
      $12,125
      Graduation rate
      58%
    30. Rank in California 30

      California Baptist University

      Riverside, CA · Private nonprofit · #128 nationally

      53.2Value
      Earnings
      $105,046
      Net price
      $24,138
      Federal debt
      $27,000
      Graduation rate
      60%
    31. Rank in California 31

      Loyola Marymount University

      Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · #137 nationally

      52.2Value
      Earnings
      $96,226
      Net price
      $50,518
      Federal debt
      $19,500
      Graduation rate
      79%
    32. Rank in California 32

      University of San Diego

      San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · #168 nationally

      48.6Value
      Earnings
      $91,848
      Net price
      $29,539
      Federal debt
      $19,000
      Graduation rate
      81%
    33. Rank in California 33

      California Polytechnic State University-Humboldt

      Arcata, CA · Public · #311 nationally

      21.3Value
      Earnings
      $78,225
      Net price
      $13,751
      Federal debt
      $24,129
      Graduation rate
      44%

    Method: the same value score as the national engineering ranking (earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate, each a national percentile). Data: College Scorecard, reporting year 2025; 2026–27 edition, verified Nov 2026.

    Questions about engineering colleges in California

    What are the best colleges for engineering in California?

    By CollegesRef value score, the top 3 California colleges for engineering are University of California-Berkeley (value score 91.2), Stanford University (value score 89.5) and University of California-San Diego (value score 88.7). The score weighs graduate earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate.

    Which California college has the highest earnings for engineering graduates?

    University of California-Berkeley: its engineering graduates have median earnings of $200,543 4 years after the bachelor's degree.

    What is the most affordable engineering college in California on this list?

    California State University-Los Angeles has the lowest average net price of the ranked California colleges, $2,385 a year after grants. A family's own price depends on income and aid.

    How many California colleges are ranked for engineering?

    33 California colleges have a engineering bachelor's program with enough graduates and reported earnings, plus a published net price and graduation rate. Ranks shown are national; the state rank is their order within California.