Cost of Living in California for College Students

California ranks among the most expensive states to live in the U.S., behind only Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.

The Golden State, home to Stanford, UCLA, and hundreds of other colleges, is too expensive for many college students. As of 2022, more than half of California students chose to live with their parents.

The high cost of living in California undermines colleges' promise of upward mobility, with low-income and first-generation students unable to access public education due to housing costs.

In the last decade, the share of Pell Grant-eligible students attending University of California (UC) schools has fallen nearly 10%. The state is responding with more Cal Grant money and plans for affordable housing.

The large University of California system has instituted a six-year tuition freeze. According to UC, over 70% of undergrads now get an average of $18,000 in grants and scholarships.

Despite the concessions, campuses are themselves getting more expensive. On-campus costs have risen faster than off-campus costs, a 2022 report found. Meanwhile, the latest cost of living estimates from UC suggest a year of housing and meals on campus costs about $3,000 more than off campus.

How Much Is the Cost of Living in California?

The cost of living — housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and all other essential and nonessential spending — has gone up for college students nationwide. But California is expensive even compared to the national average.

According to the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), living costs — which include everything but tuition — now top $2,900 a month for students paying the highest average expenses. Other estimates place the average costs for housing alone between $1,360 to $2,649 per month.

For many college students, one or two grand is an outsized chunk of income. The CSAC found nearly one-third of students (29%) thought they lacked the resources to afford housing and utilities.

Affordable College Towns in California

Some of California's most iconic colleges are located in the state's hottest real estate markets. UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz are supremely located, and Stanford is in the hub of luxurious Silicon Valley. But not all of the vast state is so expensive.

One of California's most affordable college towns is the Central Valley, where students report spending around $800 per month on housing. Schools in the area include the University of California, Merced and Pasadena's California Institute of Technology. Chico and Fresno are also affordable college towns that are home to CSU branches.

At its most expensive, students in San Francisco and San Mateo counties report spending over 60% more for housing, roughly $1,300 per month on average.

California's urban centers are costly, but smaller cities are expensive, too. The beautiful San Luis Obispo, home to Cal Poly, was recently named the second least affordable small metro area in the country.

Average Cost of Tuition in California

Public college actually costs less in California ... for Californians. The national average cost of tuition and required fees at public four-year colleges was $9,375 for the 2020-2021 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In California, in-state students paid an average of $8,401 to attend four-year schools that year.

Out-of-state students pay considerably more to attend California's public colleges than the national average for out-of-state students. While crossing state lines for college means paying $27,091 on average nationwide, it costs an average of $34,398 to attend public colleges in California as an out-of-state student.

Tuition at California's private colleges also exceeds the national average. The average private college student in the U.S. paid $32,825 in 2020-2021. While the average cost to attend a private college in California was $38,477.

Some of the most prestigious private colleges in California — like Stanford, Pepperdine, and Pomona — cost around $60,000 per year.

As high as the cost of living has gotten in the state, big tuition bills hurt students even more. Almost four in ten students (37%) in California thought they lacked the resources to afford tuition and fees in the past year.

Student expenses in California have increased across the board. Everything costs more, except for books and supplies. The infamous textbook receipts have actually shortened, the CSAC report found.

Page last reviewed: Dec 8th, 2023