Best Community Colleges in California 2023

Published: Mar 11, 2021
Updated: Mar 13, 2023

The best community colleges provide an effective springboard into higher education, offering students high-quality two-year degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The top-rated community colleges in California offer a broad selection of associate’s degrees, affordable tuition rates, and strong partnerships with public four-year schools so that students can easily transfer their credits into accredited bachelor’s degree programs.

10 Best Community Colleges in California

Los Angeles City College

38%

Pasadena City College

36%

City College of San Francisco

33%

Merritt College

33%

Sacramento City College

32%

Long Beach City College

28%

Santa Barbara City College

28%

Fullerton College

27%

El Camino College

27%

Los Angeles Pierce College

26%

San Joaquin Delta College

37 to 1

Merritt College

34 to 1

East Los Angeles College

33 to 1

College of the Desert

30 to 1

De Anza College

29 to 1

Los Angeles City College

29 to 1

Cerritos College

29 to 1

Long Beach City College

28 to 1

El Camino College

28 to 1

Los Angeles Valley College

27 to 1

Long Beach City College

$1,472

De Anza College

$1,395

College of the Desert

$1,288

Diablo Valley College

$1,288

Saddleback College

$1,288

Mt. San Antonio College

$1,288

Palomar College

$1,288

San Joaquin Delta College

$1,288

Cerritos College

$1,288

San Bernardino Valley College

$1,288

Diablo Valley College

18%

College of the Canyons

20%

Cerritos College

20%

Cabrillo College

20%

San Bernardino Valley College

20%

Mt. San Antonio College

20%

San Diego City College

21%

Sierra College

22%

San Joaquin Delta College

22%

Palomar College

22%

Santa Rosa Junior College

19 to 1

Cabrillo College

20 to 1

San Bernardino Valley College

21 to 1

City College of San Francisco

22 to 1

Chabot College

23 to 1

San Diego City College

24 to 1

Diablo Valley College

25 to 1

Fresno City College

25 to 1

Mt. San Antonio College

25 to 1

American River College

25 to 1

Cabrillo College

$1,104

Fullerton College

$1,104

San Diego City College

$1,104

Pasadena City College

$1,104

Chabot College

$1,104

Fresno City College

$1,104

College of the Canyons

$1,104

El Camino College

$1,104

Merritt College

$1,104

Santa Barbara City College

$1,104

Key Takeaways

Community colleges have a more bearable admission process and higher acceptance rates, so getting into one seems significantly easier compared to enrolling in a four-year university. But this does not imply that their courses are simpler or less challenging.
All prospective students can attend the best community colleges in California because of the reasonable tuition costs and financial aid options. You can choose from numerous top-notch institutions to meet your demands in terms of both education and employment.
You may continue your studies at the University of California and California State University if you graduate from a reputable community college in California with a strong GPA. UCLA and CSU give students from California community colleges who excel preference academically.

Colleges and Universities in California

California’s higher education institutes span across the entire state, allowing students to study by the beach, in the forest, in small towns, and in large cities. There are over 30 high quality online programs that would allow you to earn a degree from literally anywhere in California, or the world.

The state’s largest university is the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). UCLA serves nearly 44,000 students and offers a tuition rate around $13,000. This isn’t the only school with a large student body though. California is home to 23 colleges and universities with student populations of over 20,000 students.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

However, more than half of the state’s schools serve smaller student populations, offering plenty of options for students who crave a more intimate campus experience. Additionally, California boasts 50 religiously affiliated schools. Many of these schools have high graduation rates. However, tuition costs can range greatly, from $8,000 at Bethesda University up to $54,000 at Pepperdine University.

Additionally, many of California’s colleges and universities boast influential faculty and alumni, including Neil Armstrong, Jerry Lewis, and Weird Al Yankovic. In addition to famous alumni and professors, California’s schools are also home to some of the country’s top degree programs, including nursing, business, religious studies, education, literature, and law. Many of these schools offer online courses and complete online programs in these same disciplines.

Though Hollywood has given us an inside look into California’s most popular landmarks and attractions, these one-of-a-kind places aren’t the only reason people flock to The Golden State. With hundreds of colleges and universities, as well as community and junior colleges, to choose from, students have countless opportunities to further their education in California.

Many of these opportunities are also accessible through online courses and online colleges. A growing number of online programs in California have received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools, which means online students have a higher level of quality assurance than ever before. It’s also worth noting that students who live in California can still get an in-state discount on their associate degree or bachelor’s degree even when completing online courses or online programs.

To learn more about earning your degree in California, check out some of the state’s top programs and career paths.

What are California’s Colleges & Universities?

California’s Best Overall

Top-rated Community Colleges: California’s Pride

There is a misconception that claims students attend community colleges because their applications for a four-year degree were rejected. Many first-time college students begin their post-secondary degrees in community and junior colleges to save money.

Students take out fewer loans and have a lighter debt load by enrolling in an associate degree before enrolling in a bachelor’s degree. Community colleges are viewed by many students (and parents) as excellent stepping stones. This trend hasn’t diminished during the last few years.

Degrees Offered in Community Colleges in California

Community colleges in California offer a broad range of degrees that can help students transfer to a bachelor’s degree or join the workforce immediately. Community colleges also offer certificate programs that can be completed in an average of six months, mostly utilized as credentials for the workforce to get a job immediately or get promoted.

California community colleges offer associate degrees or two-year degrees: Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science.

Both the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degrees are broadly based in the arts or sciences and are intended to transfer to four-year colleges or universities. An AA degree will prepare students for four-year liberal arts degree programs.

An AS degree is best suited for students interested in STEM courses.

AAS degrees, on the other hand, are meant to prepare students for particular careers.

AA and AS degrees are designed to meet a college or university’s lower division criteria so the student can matriculate to a four-year university as a junior. The most sought-after AAS degrees are nursing, computer programming, automotive technology, and criminal justice.

Most community colleges also offer associate’s degrees in arts and sciences for specialized fields. For instance, a person who wanted to study biology at the university level would pursue an associate’s degree. Transfer students will find it easier to finance a bachelor’s degree when they already have an associate degree in the field.

Students looking for the best financial aid and transfer opportunities should look into Pasadena City College, De Anza College, Orange Coast College, Santa Barbara City College, East Los Angeles College, and San Antonio College.

The majority of the community college students in California are busy adults. These students are allowed to complete their degrees through online learning. Online programs add convenience and, frequently, an accelerated curriculum.

Admission Requirements for Community Colleges in California

Every community college in California aims to offer low-cost education to those looking to raise their social standing via learning and employment. Thus, community colleges are seen as open-door institutions with extremely attainable entrance standards that may be satisfied by the majority of applicants.

Unlike four-year universities, community colleges do not set high standards for admission. The primary admission requirements are a high school diploma, GED, or completion of a high school program. 18-year-olds and above are eligible to enroll in community college courses, but they can only take classes that count toward a high school equivalency (GED) or an adult high school diploma.

Like four-year universities, community colleges also allow high school students to enroll in college courses as early as grade 9. Current high school students can enroll in community college courses that qualify for high school and college credit through these initiatives.

How do we determine California's best community colleges?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

We’ve identified 98 community colleges in California. The following list shows the best community colleges and primarily associate degree granting colleges in California.

If you’re interested in an online associate degree, visit our best online associate degrees in California page.