Only 3 elite private universities are a better value than Cal Poly, new California list says

Cal Poly ranks as the best-value public university in California, according to a new list from SmartAsset, moving up a couple spots to trail only three elite private colleges.

This year, the California State University system’s premier campus came in at No. 4 on the list. It’s the highest Cal Poly has ranked since it was also No. 4 in 2017.

The university held the No. 6 spot in 2021 and 2022.

Cal Poly has made the top 10 every year since SmartAsset launched the list in 2015.

It remains the highest-ranked California State University campus — though in an interesting trend, several other CSUs rose in the latest edition, booting all but one UC campus from the top 10.

Cal Poly ranks directly behind Stanford at No. 3, Harvey Mudd at No. 2 and Cal Tech at No. 1. UC Berkeley was the only University of California school to make the top 10 at No. 8.

SmartAsset compiled its ranking using a series of metrics, including starting salary, tuition, living expenses, student retention rate and scholarships awarded.

According to the SmartAsset data, Cal Poly students boast a median starting salary of $83,200 and the school’s score boosted by its comparatively low tuition of $17,622, which is mitigated by average scholarships and grants of $7,853.

That’s a net expense of $9,769 and notably better than Berkeley at $20,411, calculated from tuition of $42,611 and average financial aid of $22,200. Berkeley students have a median starting salary of $90,900.

Cal Poly ranks high on many top-college lists

Cal Poly has landed at the top of many recent college rankings.

The university made the top 25 nationally for best salaries, according to the Wall Street Journal, and came in at No. 57 in Forbes’ annual ranking of the best colleges in the nation.

The university was also named the best overall regional university in the West in U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 college rankings.

Here’s the full top-10 list from SmartAsse:

1. Cal Tech
2. Harvey Mudd
3. Stanford
4. Cal Poly SLO
5. San Jose State
6. Cal Poly Pomona
7. Pomona College
8. UC Berkeley
9. CSU Long Beach
10. CSU East Bay

This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 11:00 AM.

Sadie Dittenber

The Tribune

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Sadie Dittenber writes about education for The Tribune and is a California Local News Fellow through the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Dittenber graduated from The College of Idaho with a degree in international political economy.