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Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

26 Colleges
$1,265 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$29,728 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, mental and social health services was ranked 8th in California. In fact, 1,899 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for healthcare students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 26 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for mental health services students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools

#1

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Cuesta College the best value school in California for mental and social health services students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cuesta College are $1,338 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cuesta College also is in the top 10% of our Best Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California ranking.

Full Mental & Social Health Services at Cuesta College Report

Out of the 26 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, West Hills College-Coalinga landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Coalinga, West Hills College-Coalinga is a public school with a small student population.

West Hills College-Coalinga undergraduate students pay an average of $1,380 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, mental health services majors at West Hills College-Coalinga accumulate an average of around $14,613 in student debt.

Read full report on Mental & Social Health Services at West Hills College-Coalinga

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Napa Valley College is a great value for mental and social health services students working on their associate degree. Napa Valley College is a small public school located in the small city of Napa.

Napa Valley College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,150 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mt. San Antonio College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California list. Mt. SAC is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Walnut.

Mt. SAC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,352 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Mental & Social Health Services at Mt. San Antonio College Report

#5

San Bernardino Valley College

San Bernardino, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Bernardino Valley College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of San Bernardino, San Bernardino Valley College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Bernardino Valley College are $1,362 per year.

Read More…

#6

Modesto Junior College

Modesto, CA

Modesto Junior College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California list. MJC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Modesto.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MJC are $1,274 per year.

MJC also claimed a spot on our Best Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#7

Yuba College

Marysville, CA

Yuba College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree mental and social health services programs. Yuba College is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Marysville.

Yuba College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,128 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#8

Santa Rosa Junior College

Santa Rosa, CA

Santa Rosa Junior College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mental and social health services students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SRJC are $1,328 per year.

Read More…

#9

American River College

Sacramento, CA

American River College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree mental and social health services programs. American River is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Sacramento.

Read More…

#10

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara, CA

Santa Barbara City College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for mental and social health services students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Santa Barbara, SBCC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SBCC are $1,232 a year.

SBCC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Mental & Social Health Services at Santa Barbara City College

Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Oregon 240
Washington 748
Nevada 52
Alaska 25

Mental & Social Health Services is one of 30 different types of healthcare programs to choose from.

Mental Health Services Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Mental Health Counseling/Counselor 7,609
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling 5,433
Other Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions 4,069
Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling 3,405
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician 2,779
Clinical/Medical Social Work 2,534
Community Health Services/Liaison/Counseling 2,526
Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling 328
Genetic Counseling/Counselor 288
Trauma Counseling 56
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy 13
Medical Family Therapy/Therapist 12

Related Major Annual Graduates
Nursing 322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 26 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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