Best Mechanical Engineering Colleges in California2026 Rankings
With 30 Mechanical Engineering programs spread across California, narrowing your list takes real data. Our algorithm ranks each school on six factors — admission rate, graduation rate, net price, median graduate earnings, student-faculty ratio, and major breadth — so you can compare apples to apples before you apply.
California offers 21 public and 9 private Mechanical Engineering programs in this ranking. Public universities average $24,417 for in-state students, making them a strong value option. The most competitive school on the list — California Institute of Technology (Caltech) — accepts 3% of applicants. Early-career earnings for Mechanical Engineering graduates average $41,075, with a state-wide graduation rate of 75% for ranked programs.
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| # | College | Value Score | Admit Rate | Grad Rate | Net Price | Median Earnings | Student:Faculty | Majors Offered | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech)Private | Perfect· 57 | 3% | 93% | $7,003 | $102,669 | 3:1 | 26 | 1,023 |
| 2 | Stanford UniversityPrivate | Perfect· 54 | 4% | 93% | $1,323 | $89,527 | 6:1 | 49 | 7,841 |
| 3 | University of Southern CaliforniaPrivate | Excellent· 45 | 10% | 92% | $18,993 | $83,356 | 9:1 | 83 | 20,817 |
| 4 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoPublic | Excellent· 43 | 30% | 85% | $11,372 | $83,011 | 18:1 | 78 | 21,521 |
| 5 | University of San DiegoPrivate | Great· 41 | 47% | 82% | $19,998 | $77,962 | 14:1 | 43 | 5,619 |
| 6 | University of California-San DiegoPublic | Great· 41 | 25% | 88% | $10,389 | $69,555 | 19:1 | 71 | 33,787 |
| 7 | University of California-DavisPublic | Great· 41 | 42% | 85% | $12,304 | $75,231 | 21:1 | 91 | 31,777 |
| 8 | University of California-Santa BarbaraPublic | Great· 41 | 28% | 85% | $11,398 | $81,108 | 17:1 | 53 | 23,205 |
| 9 | Santa Clara UniversityPrivate | Great· 40 | 44% | 88% | $41,599 | $81,865 | 10:1 | 45 | 6,235 |
| 10 | University of California-Los AngelesPublic | Great· 40 | 9% | 93% | $11,065 | $79,016 | 18:1 | 75 | 33,040 |
| 11 | University of California-IrvinePublic | Great· 40 | 26% | 86% | $11,769 | $67,633 | 18:1 | 71 | 29,494 |
| 12 | University of California-BerkeleyPublic | Great· 40 | 12% | 93% | $11,424 | $88,497 | 18:1 | 80 | 33,073 |
| 13 | California State University-Long BeachPublic | Great· 38 | 47% | 70% | $9,063 | $60,996 | 19:1 | 84 | 34,131 |
| 14 | University of California-RiversidePublic | Great· 38 | 63% | 77% | $12,449 | $62,554 | 23:1 | 60 | 22,644 |
| 15 | Loyola Marymount UniversityPrivate | Strong· 36 | 40% | 80% | $32,869 | $60,798 | 11:1 | 50 | 7,171 |
| 16 | San Diego State UniversityPublic | Strong· 36 | 34% | 78% | $14,205 | $69,754 | 22:1 | 79 | 33,654 |
| 17 | University of California-MercedPublic | Strong· 35 | 39% | 69% | $11,594 | $67,096 | 21:1 | 27 | 8,372 |
| 18 | San Jose State UniversityPublic | Strong· 34 | 80% | 65% | $12,948 | $58,993 | 18:1 | 90 | 26,757 |
| 19 | California State Polytechnic University-PomonaPublic | Good· 33 | 74% | 67% | $11,196 | $75,040 | 23:1 | 60 | 24,271 |
| 20 | California State University-FullertonPublic | Good· 33 | 87% | 69% | $5,438 | $65,252 | 22:1 | 60 | 36,956 |
| 21 | California State University-FresnoPublic | Good· 32 | 96% | 55% | $7,220 | $65,938 | 18:1 | 83 | 21,070 |
| 22 | California State University-Los AngelesPublic | Good· 32 | 92% | 53% | $5,373 | $55,405 | 19:1 | 61 | 21,478 |
| 23 | California State University Maritime AcademyPublic | Good· 32 | 99% | 67% | $16,648 | $92,315 | 10:1 | 7 | 761 |
| 24 | University of the PacificPrivate | Good· 31 | 95% | 68% | $20,169 | $76,785 | 14:1 | 55 | 3,247 |
| 25 | San Francisco State UniversityPublic | Good· 31 | 96% | 50% | $12,916 | $72,647 | 16:1 | 86 | 20,033 |
| 26 | California State University-ChicoPublic | Good· 30 | 94% | 64% | $13,937 | $73,297 | 20:1 | 83 | 13,057 |
| 27 | California State University-NorthridgePublic | Good· 30 | 93% | 56% | $8,897 | $71,359 | 21:1 | 76 | 32,357 |
| 28 | California State University-SacramentoPublic | Good· 30 | 94% | 56% | $10,861 | $66,462 | 21:1 | 58 | 27,867 |
| 29 | California Baptist UniversityPrivate | Average· 28 | 74% | 60% | $23,799 | $72,224 | 20:1 | 78 | 7,914 |
| 30 | Art Center College of DesignPrivate | Average· 27 | 75% | 83% | $46,301 | $59,384 | 8:1 | 8 | 2,054 |