EDsmart’s ranking of the Best Northern California Colleges is the most comprehensive and well-rounded to date. The ranking includes only fully accredited schools. Rankings are based on affordability, academic quality, student satisfaction, and post-graduation earnings according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.
“It is important to recognize the colleges and universities that go above and beyond,” said Tyson Stevens, managing editor of EDsmart. “Our goal is to highlight these schools and their commitment to higher education.”
“The Best Northern California Colleges ranking allows students to compare accredited programs and find those that best fit their education interests and career goals,” said EDsmart’s spokesperson. “Beyond providing affordable education, a college is not successful if it does not graduate its students, which is why EDsmart rankings place a high value on outcomes, including graduation and retention rates, and post-graduation earnings.”
The EDsmart 2022 ranking for the Best Northern California Colleges ranks Skyline College #1 as the best college in Northern California with College of San Mateo and Canada College following.
2022 Best Northern California Colleges
Rank
School
City
Net Price
1
Skyline College
San Bruno
$1,157
2
College of San Mateo
San Mateo
$1,239
3
Canada College
Redwood City
$1,697
4
Shasta Bible College and Graduate School
Redding
$2,981
5
Cosumnes River College
Sacramento
$3,258
6
City College of San Francisco
San Francisco
$3,267
7
De Anza College
Cupertino
$3,297
8
Las Positas College
Livermore
$3,307
9
West Valley College
Saratoga
$3,587
10
Mission College
Santa Clara
$3,691
11
Foothill College
Los Altos Hills
$3,859
12
Chabot College
Hayward
$4,192
13
College of the Redwoods
Eureka
$4,773
14
Gavilan College
Gilroy
$4,784
15
American River College
$4,816
16
Shasta College
$4,841
17
Folsom Lake College
Folsom
$4,975
18
Butte College
Oroville
$5,070
19
Diablo Valley College
Pleasant Hill
$5,103
20
Yuba College
Marysville
$5,136
21
Los Medanos College
Pittsburg
$5,162
22
Contra Costa College
San Pablo
$5,213
23
Woodland Community College
Woodland
$5,433
24
Sacramento City College
$5,785
25
Mendocino College
Ukiah
$5,948
26
California State University Stanislaus
Turlock
$6,019
27
Solano Community College
Fairfield
$6,086
28
Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa
$6,585
29
College of Marin
Kentfield
$7,131
30
Epic Bible College
$7,439
31
Lake Tahoe Community College
South Lake Tahoe
$7,778
32
Columbia College
Sonora
$7,990
33
College of the Siskiyous
Weed
$8,061
34
Lassen Community College
Susanville
$8,290
35
Ohlone College
Fremont
$8,483
36
Cabrillo College
Aptos
$8,487
37
Feather River Community College District
Quincy
$8,809
38
Berkeley City College
Berkeley
$9,291
39
College of Alameda
Alameda
$9,647
40
California State University Sacramento
$9,979
41
Evergreen Valley College
San Jose
$10,701
42
Humphreys College Stockton and Modesto Campuses
Stockton
$11,055
43
California State University East Bay
$11,116
44
Modesto Junior College
Modesto
$11,267
45
Merced College
Merced
$11,522
46
Laney College
Oakland
$11,977
47
Merritt College
$12,849
48
Stanford University
Stanford
$12,894
49
University of California Merced
$13,691
50
Napa Valley College
Napa
$14,155
51
San Jose City College
$14,302
52
San Francisco State University
$14,459
53
Humboldt State University
Arcata
$14,692
54
San Joaquin Delta College
$14,779
55
California State University Chico
Chico
$15,017
56
University of California Davis
Davis
$15,768
57
University of California Berkeley
$16,032
58
San Jose State University
$16,542
59
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park
$17,563
60
University of California Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz
$17,930
61
SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary
$19,115
62
California Maritime Academy
Vallejo
$20,597
63
San Joaquin Valley College Modesto
Salida
$20,662
64
Pacific Union College
Angwin
$21,259
65
Holy Names University
$23,034
66
Simpson University
$24,482
67
San Joaquin Valley College Rancho Cordova
Rancho Cordova
$24,535
68
Mills College
$24,949
69
William Jessup University
Rocklin
$25,268
70
Menlo College
Atherton
$27,840
71
University of the Pacific
$28,380
72
Cogswell College
Sunnyvale
$29,566
73
Expression College for Digital Arts
Emeryville
$31,931
74
Dominican University of California
San Rafael
$32,978
75
California College of the Arts
$33,876
76
Saint Marys College of California
Moraga
$37,232
77
Sierra College
$37,494
78
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
$39,165
79
University of San Francisco
$40,053
80
San Francisco Art Institute
$40,793
81
FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising San Francisco
$41,505
82
Santa Clara University
$42,614
University and student response to EDsmart rankings has been very positive. Sharing the rankings on their websites and via social media has helped schools attract new students and excite existing students and alumni.
The rankings and data were produced for EDsmart, a leading higher education research organization. All evaluated data was gathered from IPEDs, U.S. Department of Higher Education, College Scorecard, Payscale.com, school websites, and other reputable sources.
The rankings have been published at https://www.edsmart.org/best-northern-california-colleges/
About EDsmart
EDsmart reviews publicly available data to produce independent ranking assessments of various educational programs, in addition to student guides and resources. The site is regularly updated by a committed team of writers and researchers, who produce college rankings and resources that will help prospective and current college students get into, pay for, and thrive at the college of their choice.
Media ContactCompany Name: EDsmartContact Person: Tyson StevensEmail: Send EmailPhone: (707) 595-0736City: DraperState: UTCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://www.edsmart.org/