2024 Average Tuition, Fees, and Living Costs in California State

The average tuition & fees of California colleges is $3,071 for California residents and $13,536 for students from other States. Laurus College has the highest (most expensive) tuition & fees of $83,400 and Thomas Jefferson School of Law has the lowest tuition & fees (cheapest) of $1,200.

For graduate programs, Claremont McKenna College has the highest (most expensive) graduate tuition & fees of $64,150 and Grace Mission University has the lowest graduate tuition & fees (cheapest) of $3,480 in California.

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2024 Costs of Attendance (COA)

The average COA of California 4-year colleges in 2024 is $27,597 for California residents and $41,498 for students from other states. The COA includes tuition & fees, books & supplies, room & board, and other living expenses, but it excludes health insurance fee and uncommon expenses.

Table

Table. 2024 Average Costs of Attendance for California Colleges (4-Years)
	Undergraduate		Graduate
	In-State	Out-of-State	In-State	Out-of-State
Tuition & Fees	$6,823	$20,723	$10,762	$22,043
Books & Supplies	$1,200		$1,200
Room & Board	$19,574		$19,574
COA	$27,597	$41,498	$31,536	$42,817

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California Best Colleges

Stanford University

California Institute of Technology

Pomona College

University of Southern California

Claremont McKenna College

Harvey Mudd College

Soka University of America

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

University of California-Los Angeles

University of California-Berkeley

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Undergraduate Tuition & Fees

In California, 622 schools offer undergraduate programs. The average undergraduate tuition & fees of California colleges is $3,071 for California residents and $13,536 for out-of-state students for the academic year 2023-2024.

The California tuition & fees have risen 2.78% from last year (4 years colleges). The following table and chart describe the 2024 undergraduate tuition & fees trends over last 5 years in 4-years and 2-4 years (community colleges) colleges.

Table

Table. 2024 Average Undergraduate Tuition & Fees for California Universities and Colleges
	Public Schools				Private Schools
	4 Years or High		2-4 Years		4 Years or High	2-4 Years
	In-State	Out-of-State	In-State	Out-of-State	4 Years or High	2-4 Years
2020	$6,649	$19,630	$1,271	$8,034	$27,062	$17,026
2021	$6,685	$19,936	$1,380	$8,399	$27,011	$17,363
2022	$6,718	$20,026	$1,338	$8,836	$27,129	$17,773
2023	$6,789	$20,163	$1,336	$9,167	$27,418	$21,303
2024	$6,823	$20,723	$1,286	$10,011	$27,622	$21,548

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Expensive California Colleges (Highest Undergraduate Tuition)

Laurus College	$83,400
Cedars Sinai Medical Center	$78,000
Glendale Career College	$76,757
North-West College-San Diego	$76,757
Career Networks Institute	$75,380

Inexpensive California Colleges (Lowest Undergraduate Tuition)

Thomas Jefferson School of Law	$1,200
University of the People	$1,200
University of Antelope Valley	$1,465
Berkeley School of Theology	$2,896
Grace Mission University	$3,480

Based on out-of-state tuition rates of 4 years (or high) colleges

Graduate Program Tuition & Fees

233 California colleges offer graduate programs. The average graduate program tuition fees of California colleges is $10,762 for California residents and $22,043 for students from other States. The graduate tuition & fees rose 100.90% from last year.

The following table and chart describe the 2024 graduate tuition & fees and show last 5 years' tuition change.

Table

Table. 2024 Average Graduate Tuition & Fees for California Universities and Colleges
	Public Schools		Private Schools
	In-State	Out-of-State	Private Schools
2020	$11,309	$21,598	$21,914
2021	$11,494	$22,202	$22,297
2022	$11,534	$21,822	$22,642
2023	$11,557	$21,846	$23,238
2024	$10,762	$22,043	$24,542

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Expensive Graduate Schools in California

Claremont McKenna College	$68,525
University of Southern California	$68,128
American Film Institute Conservatory	$65,800
Occidental College	$63,446
California Institute of Technology	$63,063

Inexpensive Graduate Schools in California

Grace Mission University	$2,640
Thomas Jefferson School of Law	$3,300
World Mission University	$5,600
SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary	$5,895
United States University	$6,037

Based on out-of-state tuition rates of 4 years (or high) colleges

2024 Books & Supplies Costs

The average books & supplies costs of California colleges in 2024 is $1,200. The books & supplies costs rose 92.35% from last year. Next table and chart describes the 2024 books & supplies costs and costs changes over last 5 years

Table

Table. 2024 Average Books & Supplies Costs for California Universities and Colleges
	Books & Supplies
2020	$1,599
2021	$1,238
2022	$1,252
2023	$1,300
2024	$1,200

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2024 Average Living Costs

The average living costs of California colleges in 2024 is $19,574 when a student lives on campus such as dormitory and college apartment and $22,819 living off campus. 125 schools have on-campus living facilities in California State. The on-campus living costs rose 107.82% and off-campus costs rose 109.91% from last year. Next table and chart describes the 2024 living costs and compares to last 5 years.

Table

Table. 2024 Average Living Costs for California Universities and Colleges
	On-Campus	Off-Campus
2020	$16,962	$18,057
2021	$17,142	$18,752
2022	$17,386	$19,580
2023	$18,153	$20,761
2024	$19,574	$22,819

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Most Searched California Colleges (last 30 days)

Undergraduate

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo Public, four-years | San Luis Obispo
Stanford University Private, four-years | Stanford
University of California-Los Angeles Public, four-years | Los Angeles
National University Private, four-years | San Diego
University of California-Berkeley Public, four-years | Berkeley
California Institute of Technology Private, four-years | Pasadena
DeVry University-California Private, four-years | Ontario
University of Southern California Private, four-years | Los Angeles
San Diego State University Public, four-years | San Diego
University of California-Santa Barbara Public, four-years | Santa Barbara

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Graduate

National University Private, four-years | San Diego
San Jose State University Public, four-years | San Jose
California State University-Northridge Public, four-years | Northridge
Santa Clara University Private, four-years | Santa Clara
California State University-Fresno Public, four-years | Fresno
Sonoma State University Public, four-years | Rohnert Park
Stanford University Private, four-years | Stanford
University of the Pacific Private, four-years | Stockton
California Institute of Technology Private, four-years | Pasadena
University of California-Merced Public, four-years | Merced

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Online Schools

Ashford University Private, four-years | San Diego
National University Private, four-years | San Diego
University of Redlands Private, four-years | Redlands
Academy of Art University Private, four-years | San Francisco
Stanford University Private, four-years | Stanford
Chaffey College Public, 2-4 years | Rancho Cucamonga
Clovis Community College Public, 2-4 years | Fresno
Claremont Lincoln University Private, four-years | Claremont
California Intercontinental University Private, four-years | Irvine
University of Massachusetts Global Public, four-years | Irvine

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Technical Colleges

Coastline Beauty College Private, Less than 2-years | Fountain Valley
Advance Beauty College Private, Less than 2-years | Garden Grove
UEI College-Riverside Private, Less than 2-years | Riverside
Unitek College Private, Less than 2-years | Hayward
Stanbridge University Private, four-years | Irvine
Career Academy of Beauty Private, Less than 2-years | Garden Grove
Casa Loma College-Los Angeles Private, four-years | Sherman Oaks
Advanced Career Institute Private, Less than 2-years | Visalia
Paul Mitchell the School-San Diego Private, Less than 2-years | San Diego
Blake Austin College Private, Less than 2-years | Vacaville

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