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2023 Best 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Trade Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 94 schools in California to see which ones offered the best programs for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Trade Schools in California
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found University of the Pacific to be the best school for trade school students in California. University of the Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Stockton, California that handed out 1,840 degrees in 2021-2022.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend National University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. Located in San Diego, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 6,315 degrees in 2021-2022.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means West Hills College-Lemoore is a great place for trade school students. This small public school is located in Lemoore, California, and it awarded 1,479 degrees in 2021-2022.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Merced College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. Located in Merced, California, the fairly large public school handed out 2,892 degrees in 2021-2022.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Santa Barbara City College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. SBCC is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 3,767 degrees in 2021-2022.
Foothill College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Foothill College is a fairly large public school situated in Los Altos Hills, California. It awarded 2,215 degrees in 2021-2022.
University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 18,134 degrees in 2021-2022.
Cuesta College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for trade school students. It came in at #8 on the list. San Luis Obispo, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 4,702 students in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #9, Canada College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. Located in Redwood City, California, the medium-sized public school handed out 621 degrees in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #10, San Diego State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. This large public school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 10,875 degrees in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #11, The University of Arizona Global Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. The University of Arizona Global Campus is a large private for-profit school located in San Diego, California that handed out 9,522 degrees in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #12, Napa Valley College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. Located in Napa, California, the small public school handed out 1,005 degrees in 2021-2022.
Mt. San Antonio College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Trade Schools in California ranking. Mt. SAC is a large public school situated in Walnut, California. It awarded 5,457 degrees in 2021-2022.
Crafton Hills College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Yucaipa, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 1,462 students in 2021-2022.
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Cal Poly Pomona is a large public school situated in Pomona, California. It awarded 6,956 degrees in 2021-2022.
With a ranking of #16, Gavilan College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. This small public school is located in Gilroy, California, and it awarded 1,198 degrees in 2021-2022.
Pacific Union College ranked #17 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. Angwin, California is the setting for this very small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out degrees to 224 students in 2021-2022.
Butte College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Trade Schools in California ranking. Butte College is a public institution located in Oroville, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 2,241 degrees in 2021-2022.
Santa Rosa Junior College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best trade school programs. Santa Rosa, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out degrees to 5,856 students in 2021-2022.
Cabrillo College ranked #20 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. Cabrillo College is a medium-sized public school situated in Aptos, California. It awarded 2,615 degrees in 2021-2022.
California State University - Chico ranked #21 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. Chico State is a fairly large public school situated in Chico, California. It awarded 4,412 degrees in 2021-2022.
California State University Maritime Academy came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Trade Schools in California ranking. Located in Vallejo, California, the very small public school handed out 232 degrees in 2021-2022.
Los Angeles City College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. Los Angeles City College is located in Los Angeles, California and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2,807 degrees to qualified students.
With a ranking of #24, San Joaquin Delta College did quite well on this year’s best schools for trade school students working. This fairly large public school is located in Stockton, California, and it awarded 4,179 degrees in 2021-2022.
San Bernardino Valley College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Trade Schools in California list. Located in San Bernardino, California, the fairly large public school awarded 2,876 diplomas to qualifed students in 2021-2022.
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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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