The 10 Best College Towns In California For 2024


Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and California is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within California are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in California are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

The 10 Best College Towns In California For 2024

  1. Santa Barbara, CA
  2. Berkeley, CA
  3. Chico, CA
  4. Davis, CA
  5. Pasadena, CA
  6. Stanford, CA
  7. San Marcos, CA
  8. Long Beach, CA
  9. Pomona, CA
  10. Turlock, CA

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in Santa Barbara, Berkeley and Chico - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Santa Barbara ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Finally, if you live in Laguna Beach, CA - it's officially the worst college town in California. Sorry, Laguna Beach!

Read on to find out more or for more on California check out:

The 10 Best College Towns In California For 2024

Santa Barbara, CA
Source: Wikipedia User Caroline Culler (User:Wgreaves) | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 88,640
% Undergrad Pop.: 21.4% (6th best)
Median Rent: $2,209 (62nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 439.2% (11th best)
Crime Rank: 35th best
More on Santa Barbara: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College

Berkeley, CA
Source: Wikipedia User User:Introvert | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 121,385
% Undergrad Pop.: 18.7% (7th best)
Median Rent: $2,067 (50th best)
Unemployment Rate: 546.9% (4best)
Crime Rank: 90th best
More on Berkeley: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley City College, Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology

Chico, CA
Source: Wikipedia User Michaelfavor at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 102,790
% Undergrad Pop.: 13.5% (12th best)
Median Rent: $1,360 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 688.6% (77th best)
Crime Rank: 25th best
More on Chico: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: California State University-Chico, Marinello School of Beauty-Chico

Davis, CA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 67,203
% Undergrad Pop.: 30.3% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,927 (39th best)
Unemployment Rate: 575.2% (50th best)
Crime Rank: 54th best
More on Davis: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of California-Davis

Pasadena, CA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
7.5
/10

Population: 137,554
% Undergrad Pop.: 1.9% (38th best)
Median Rent: $2,100 (53rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 515.8% (3best)
Crime Rank: 44th best
More on Pasadena: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Pasadena City College, Art Center College of Design, California Institute of Technology

Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 17,255
% Undergrad Pop.: 45.7% (best)
Median Rent: $1,813 (29th best)
Unemployment Rate: 612.4% (59th best)
Crime Rank: 38th best
More on Stanford: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Stanford University

San Marcos, CA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 94,360
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.3% (24th best)
Median Rent: $2,064 (49th best)
Unemployment Rate: 423.9% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on San Marcos: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Palomar College, California State University-San Marcos, Palomar Institute of Cosmetology

Long Beach, CA
Source: Wikipedia User Tisoy, Matthew Field, Clinton Steeds, Regular Daddy, Los Angeles | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 462,293
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.4% (23rd best)
Median Rent: $1,698 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 659.7% (7best)
Crime Rank: 57th best
More on Long Beach: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: California State University-Long Beach, Long Beach City College, John Wesley International Barber and Beauty College

Pomona, CA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 149,831
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.0% (13th best)
Median Rent: $1,631 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 652.2% (69th best)
Crime Rank: 72nd best
More on Pomona: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, Pomona Unified School District Adult and Career Education, North-West College-Pomona

Turlock, CA
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 72,504
% Undergrad Pop.: 7.4% (17th best)
Median Rent: $1,389 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 757.5% (86th best)
Crime Rank: 66th best
More on Turlock: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: California State University-Stanislaus, Adrian's College of Beauty Turlock

How'd we figure out the best college towns in California?

To crunch our data on California's best college towns, we used Saturday Night Science to decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 70 places in California with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

  • Students Make Up Large % of the Population
  • College-specific Factors
    • Graduation rate
    • Tuition Cost
    • Student Body Diversity
  • Town Characteristics
    • Safety
    • Affordability
    • Income and Employment Opportunities
  • Things to Do
    • Bars
    • Museums & Libraries
    • Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In California For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in California.

And it looks like Santa Barbara placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The California

If you're looking for the best college towns in California, you came to the right place.

The best college towns in California are Santa Barbara, Berkeley, Chico, Davis, Pasadena, Stanford, San Marcos, Long Beach, Pomona, and Turlock.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

If you're curious, these are the worst college towns in California, starting with the absolute worst, Laguna Beach:

  1. Laguna Beach
  2. Los Alamitos
  3. Malibu
  4. Emeryville
  5. Vallejo
  6. Burbank
  7. Ontario
  8. Alhambra
  9. Redlands
  10. Redding

For more reading, check out:

70 Best College Towns In California

Rank City Population
1 Santa Barbara, CA 88640
2 Berkeley, CA 121385
3 Chico, CA 102790
4 Davis, CA 67203
5 Pasadena, CA 137554
6 Stanford, CA 17255
7 San Marcos, CA 94360
8 Long Beach, CA 462293
9 Pomona, CA 149831
10 Turlock, CA 72504
11 Santa Ana, CA 311379
12 Sacramento, CA 523600
13 Rosemead, CA 51043
14 Santa Cruz, CA 61367
15 San Jose, CA 1001176
16 La Mirada, CA 47644
17 San Luis Obispo, CA 47529
18 San Francisco, CA 851036
19 Cypress, CA 49955
20 Irvine, CA 304527
21 Anaheim, CA 347111
22 Whittier, CA 86459
23 Azusa, CA 49704
24 Escondido, CA 151114
25 San Diego, CA 1383987
26 Fresno, CA 541528
27 Claremont, CA 36891
28 Sunnyvale, CA 154573
29 Carson, CA 94475
30 Seaside, CA 32291
31 Fullerton, CA 142280
32 Riverside, CA 316076
33 Atherton, CA 7124
34 Hayward, CA 160602
35 Signal Hill, CA 11678
36 Los Angeles, CA 3881041
37 Rocklin, CA 71676
38 Oakland, CA 437825
39 Orange, CA 138728
40 La Verne, CA 31239
41 Santa Paula, CA 30788
42 San Rafael, CA 60891
43 Camarillo, CA 70622
44 Thousand Oaks, CA 126532
45 Moraga, CA 16859
46 San Bernardino, CA 221041
47 San Dimas, CA 34466
48 Alameda, CA 77565
49 Santa Clara, CA 128058
50 Merced, CA 87686
51 Santa Monica, CA 92168
52 Santa Maria, CA 109543
53 Bakersfield, CA 404321
54 Stockton, CA 320030
55 Santee, CA 59497
56 Costa Mesa, CA 111490
57 Arcata, CA 18536
58 Belmont, CA 27820
59 Beverly Hills, CA 32406
60 Santa Clarita, CA 225850
61 Redding, CA 93327
62 Redlands, CA 73234
63 Alhambra, CA 82295
64 Ontario, CA 176326
65 Burbank, CA 106389
66 Vallejo, CA 125132
67 Emeryville, CA 12840
68 Malibu, CA 10698
69 Los Alamitos, CA 11728
70 Laguna Beach, CA 22943

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?