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2023 Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California
It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 65 schools in California to see which basic certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Trade Basic Certificate Schools in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found National University to be the best school for trade school students who want to pursue a basic certificate in California.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at National University. In fact, around 70% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Santa Barbara City College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, the fairly large public school awarded 119 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at SBCC is $1,234. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $9,322.
SBCC does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2020-2021 year, about 80% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Merced College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California list. Merced Community College District is a fairly large public school situated in Merced, California. It awarded 287 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $1,194 in tuition and fees if they attend Merced Community College District full time. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $7,890.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Merced Community College District. During the 2020-2021 year, about 89% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Crafton Hills College is a great place for trade school students working on their basic certificate. This medium-sized public school is located in Yucaipa, California, and it awarded 216 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at CHC is $1,182. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $9,942.
CHC does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 78% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Out of the 65 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Cuesta College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Cuesta College is located in San Luis Obispo, California and has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 805 basic certificates to qualified students.
In-state students pay an average of $1,340 in tuition and fees if they attend Cuesta College full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $9,348.
Cuesta College does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2020-2021 year, about 75% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Santa Rosa Junior College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California ranking. SRJC is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Rosa, California. It awarded 2,534 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend SRJC full time pay an average of $1,318 in tuition and fees. Out-of-state students pay an average of $9,310.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since SRJC does offer online classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 85% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Butte College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in Oroville, California, the medium-sized public school awarded 777 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend Butte College full time pay an average of $1,336 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $7,816.
Butte College does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 81% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Los Angeles City College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California list. This fairly large public school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 371 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $1,238 in tuition and fees if they attend Los Angeles City College full time. Out-of-state students pay an average of $9,870.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Los Angeles City College does offer online classes for certain majors. In 2020-2021 about 95% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Canada College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California list. This medium-sized public school is located in Redwood City, California, and it awarded 75 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Canada College is $1,362. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $9,006.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Canada College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 92% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
San Joaquin Delta College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate trade school programs. Located in Stockton, California, the fairly large public school awarded 278 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
Online courses are available at Delta, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 98% took at least some of their classes online.
Victor Valley College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California list. Victor Valley College is a public institution located in Victorville, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,648 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Victor Valley College is $1,425. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $10,125.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Victor Valley College. In 2020-2021 about 49% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #12, Cabrillo College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Cabrillo College is a medium-sized public school situated in Aptos, California. It awarded 383 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from California pay an average of $1,262 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend Cabrillo College. Out-of-state students pay an average of $8,630.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Cabrillo College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 88% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
University of Antelope Valley ranked #13 on this year’s Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California list. Located in Lancaster, California, the very small private for-profit school awarded 62 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
Online courses are available at UAV, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 17% took at least some of their classes online.
Palomar College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate trade school programs. Palomar College is a fairly large public school located in San Marcos, California that handed out 844 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $1,348 in tuition and fees if they attend Palomar College full time. Out-of-state students pay an average of $10,644.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Palomar College. During the 2020-2021 year, about 88% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
College of the Sequoias ranked #15 on this year’s Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California list. College of the Sequoias is a fairly large public school situated in Visalia, California. It awarded 773 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from California pay an average of $1,394 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend College of the Sequoias. Out-of-state students pay an average of $8,338.
College of the Sequoias does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 75% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #16, Mt. San Antonio College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Mt. San Antonio College is a large public school located in Walnut, California that handed out 1,409 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Full-time students from California pay an average of $1,352 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend Mt. SAC. Out-of-state students pay an average of $10,096.
Mt. SAC does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In 2020-2021 about 10% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
West Hills College-Lemoore did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #17 on the list. West Hills College-Lemoore is a small public school situated in Lemoore, California. It awarded 688 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since West Hills College-Lemoore does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 76% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
College of the Canyons did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #18 on the list. College of the Canyons is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Clarita, California. It awarded 579 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend College of the Canyons full time pay an average of $1,162 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $9,322.
Some students may be able to take online classes at College of the Canyons. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 69% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #19, MTI College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Located in Sacramento, California, the very small private for-profit school awarded 131 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since MTI College does offer online classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 58% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Foothill College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. Foothill College is a fairly large public school situated in Los Altos Hills, California. It awarded 568 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Foothill College is $1,565. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $11,510.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Foothill College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 73% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Moorpark College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California ranking. Moorpark College is a fairly large public school situated in Moorpark, California. It awarded 280 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend Moorpark College full time pay an average of $1,394 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $8,146.
Moorpark College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 92% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Ventura College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California ranking. Ventura College is a public institution located in Ventura, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 519 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Ventura College is $1,394. Out-of-state students pay an average of $8,146.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Ventura College. In fact, around 91% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Cerritos College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in Norwalk, California, the fairly large public school handed out 2,393 basic certificate awards in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend Cerritos College full time pay an average of $1,364 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $10,324.
Online courses are available at Cerritos College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 78% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Empire College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #24 on the list.
Yuba College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in California ranking. Marysville, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 545 students in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend Yuba College full time pay an average of $1,128 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $7,488.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Yuba College. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 79% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Best Trade Basic Certificate Schools in the Far Western US Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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