Best California National Universities

Stanford University ranked first and California Institute of Technology ranked second in 2024 National Universities rankings in California. (Read our ranking methodology and know how to rank.)

The following list summarizes the core statistics for top 22 National Universities in California. You can check the schools in the comparison table below.

The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the top 22 National Universities in California is $55,333.
The average graduate tuition & fees of the top 22 National Universities in California is $44,977.
The average SAT score is 1,429 and the average acceptance rate is 25.53%.
The average number of students is 27,344 and the students to faculty ratio is 13 to 1.
The average graduation rate is 88.33% and the transfer-out rate is 3.00%.

Best California National Universities Comparison Table

The following table shows Best California National Universities. You can sort the table by column by clicking/touching column titles and narrow down the college list by using buttons below.

Rank	College Name	Undergraduate Tuition & Fees	Graduate Tuition & Fees	SAT Score	Acceptance Rate	Population	Graduation Rate	Student to Faculty Ratio
1	Stanford University Stanford, CA	$62,484	$59,499	1,550	4%	18,283	95%	5 to 1
2	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	$63,255	$63,063	-	3%	2,401	94%	3 to 1
3	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	$68,237	$68,128	1,520	12%	48,945	92%	9 to 1
4	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$45,627	$30,363	-	11%	45,307	94%	19 to 1
5	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$44,524	$28,985	-	9%	46,430	92%	18 to 1
6	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	$66,742	$42,020	1,390	49%	10,030	83%	13 to 1
7	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA	$55,340	$53,544	1,255	93%	6,277	73%	14 to 1
8	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	$46,042	$29,637	-	24%	42,006	87%	19 to 1
9	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$45,742	$29,555	-	26%	26,420	85%	17 to 1
10	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	$46,024	$29,662	-	37%	39,679	86%	21 to 1
11	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	$45,014	$29,377	-	21%	35,937	86%	18 to 1
12	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	$56,444	$29,328	-	53%	8,815	82%	13 to 1
13	Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA	$43,600	$17,330	1,110	87%	7,169	61%	10 to 1
14	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$58,222	$29,140	1,310	71%	9,688	74%	13 to 1
15	Biola University La Mirada, CA	$46,704	$12,420	1,250	57%	5,387	72%	13 to 1
16	University of La Verne La Verne, CA	$47,000	$15,790	1,115	74%	5,662	63%	11 to 1
17	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	$20,170	$19,228	-	39%	37,402	78%	25 to 1
18	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	$45,337	$29,957	-	47%	19,478	76%	23 to 1
19	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	$18,953	$18,011	-	67%	40,386	69%	24 to 1
20	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	$18,860	$17,918	-	95%	23,999	56%	21 to 1
21	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$19,304	$18,362	-	94%	25,282	54%	19 to 1
22	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	$44,947	$29,468	-	69%	26,809	76%	24 to 1
	Average	$55,333	$44,977	1,429	26%	27,344	88%	13 to 1

California Colleges by Ranking and School Type