For California colleges, the 2025 average undergraduate tuition & fees is $3,416 for California residents and $22,312 for out-of-state students.
For graduate programs, the average tuition & fees is $12,315 for California residents and $25,894 for out-of-state students.
Career Networks Institute has the highest undergraduate tuition & fees of $143,276 and Trinity School of Health and Allied Sciences has the lowest tuition & fees of $930 among California colleges. For graduate programs, Claremont McKenna College has the highest graduate tuition & fees of $72,294 and Grace Mission University has the lowest graduate tuition & fees of $2,460 among California colleges.
You can narrow California colleges down into public schools and private schools to check tuition and other college costs in deep.
The average COA of California colleges in 2025 is $25,446 for state residents and $44,342 for out-of-state students including tuition, fees, books, supplies, room & board (on-campus), and other living expenses.
| Undergraduate | Graduate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-State | Out-of-State | In-State | Out-of-State | |
| Tuition & Fees | $3,416 | $22,312 | $12,315 | $25,894 |
| Books & Supplies | $1,284 | $1,284 | ||
| Room & Board | $16,294 | $16,294 | ||
| Other Expenses | $4,451 | $4,451 | ||
| COA | $25,446 | $44,342 | $34,344 | $47,923 |
The 2025 average undergraduate tuition & fees of California colleges is $3,416 for state residents and $22,312 for out-of-state students.
The following table describes the changes of average tuition & fees for California colleges over last 5 years as well as recent year average tuition & fees.
| In-State | Out-of-State | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | Fees | Tuition | Fees | |
| 2020-2021 | $2,722 | $520 | $19,025 | $684 |
| 2021-2022 | $2,693 | $523 | $19,164 | $715 |
| 2022-2023 | $2,699 | $540 | $19,707 | $755 |
| 2023-2024 | $2,729 | $556 | $20,584 | $806 |
| 2024-2025 | $2,825 | $591 | $21,464 | $848 |
The average graduate program tuition & fees of California colleges in 2025 is $12,315 for state residents and $25,894 for out-of-state students.
The following table describes the changes of average graduate tuition & fees for California colleges over last 5 years.
| In-State | Out-of-State | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | Fees | Tuition | Fees | |
| 2020-2021 | $9,672 | $1,876 | $21,835 | $1,014 |
| 2021-2022 | $9,654 | $1,880 | $22,072 | $1,061 |
| 2022-2023 | $9,715 | $1,842 | $22,522 | $1,092 |
| 2023-2024 | $9,829 | $1,925 | $23,286 | $1,149 |
| 2024-2025 | $10,357 | $1,958 | $24,649 | $1,245 |
The undergraduate average cost per credit hour of California colleges in 2025 is $601 for state residents and $737 for out-of-state students.
The graduate average cost per credit hour is $988 for state residents and $908 for out-of-state students.
The following table describes the changes of tuition per credit hour over last 5 years.
| Undergraduate | Graduate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-State | Out-of-State | In-State | Out-of-State | |
| 2020-2021 | $532 | $641 | $889 | $816 |
| 2021-2022 | $536 | $652 | $962 | $878 |
| 2022-2023 | $553 | $675 | $921 | $844 |
| 2023-2024 | $571 | $705 | $936 | $857 |
| 2024-2025 | $601 | $737 | $988 | $908 |
The average living costs of California colleges in 2025 is $20,745 when a student lives on campus such as dormitory and school's apartment and $26,864 living off campus including room, board, and other living expenses.
The following table describes the changes of average living costs over last 5 years for California colleges.
| On-Campus | Off-Campus | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room&Board | Other Expenses | Room&Board | Other Expenses | |
| 2020-2021 | $13,374 | $3,394 | $15,275 | $4,652 |
| 2021-2022 | $13,574 | $3,356 | $16,007 | $4,715 |
| 2022-2023 | $14,159 | $3,507 | $16,856 | $4,919 |
| 2023-2024 | $15,061 | $4,093 | $18,592 | $5,602 |
| 2024-2025 | $16,294 | $4,451 | $20,659 | $6,204 |