California 4-Year Colleges 2025 Average Tuition

For California 4-Year Colleges, the 2025 average undergraduate tuition & fees is $6,071 for California residents and $27,607 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 4-Year 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 4-Year Colleges.

You can narrow California colleges down into public schools and private schools to check tuition and other college costs in deep.

Costs of Attendance (COA)

The average COA of California 4-Year Colleges in 2025 is $28,212 for state residents and $49,749 for out-of-state students including tuition, fees, books, supplies, room & board (on-campus), and other living expenses.

Table. 2025 Average Costs of Attendance for California 4-Year Colleges
UndergraduateGraduate
In-StateOut-of-StateIn-StateOut-of-State
Tuition & Fees$6,071$27,607$12,315$25,894
Books & Supplies$1,234$1,234
Room & Board$16,599$16,599
Other Expenses$4,309$4,309
COA$28,212$49,749$34,456$48,035

Undergraduate Tuition & Fees

The 2025 average undergraduate tuition & fees of California 4-Year Colleges is $6,071 for state residents and $27,607 for out-of-state students.

The following table describes the changes of average tuition & fees for California 4-Year Colleges over last 5 years as well as recent year average tuition & fees.

Table. 2025 Average Undergraduate Tuition & Fees Changes for California 4-Year Colleges (2021-2025)
In-StateOut-of-State
TuitionFeesTuitionFees
2020-2021$4,593$1,024$23,985$909
2021-2022$4,580$1,048$24,064$961
2022-2023$4,599$1,069$24,385$1,009
2023-2024$4,646$1,131$25,340$1,088
2024-2025$4,858$1,213$26,442$1,165
*The amount of tuition for 2024-2025 includes fees.

Graduate Programs Tuition & Fees

The average graduate program tuition & fees of California 4-Year 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 4-Year Colleges over last 5 years.

Table. 2025 Average Graduate Tuition & Fees Changes for California 4-Year Colleges (2021-2025)
In-StateOut-of-State
TuitionFeesTuitionFees
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

Tuition Per Credit Hour (Part-time Students and Over Credits)

The undergraduate average cost per credit hour of California 4-Year Colleges in 2025 is $944 for state residents and $929 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.

Table. 2025 Average Cost Per Credit Hour for California 4-Year Colleges (2021-2025)
UndergraduateGraduate
In-StateOut-of-StateIn-StateOut-of-State
2020-2021$843$824 $889$816
2021-2022$859$841 $962$878
2022-2023$871$854 $921$844
2023-2024$898$882 $936$857
2024-2025$944$929 $988$908

California 4-Year Colleges Living Costs

The average living costs of California 4-Year Colleges in 2025 is $20,908 when a student lives on campus such as dormitory and school's apartment and $25,862 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 4-Year Colleges.

Table. 2025 Average Living Costs for California 4-Year Colleges (2021-2025)
On-CampusOff-Campus
Room&BoardOther ExpensesRoom&BoardOther Expenses
2020-2021 $13,695$3,414 $14,655$4,581
2021-2022 $13,928$3,368 $15,368$4,639
2022-2023 $14,558$3,517 $16,219$4,897
2023-2024 $15,525$3,974 $17,804$5,547
2024-2025 $16,599$4,309 $19,768$6,094