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SUGGESTED COVERAGE: Community colleges adding student housing
Several local community colleges are looking to help students by offering student housing options.
LOS ANGELES - Several California community colleges have been named among the best in the U.S.
That's according to personal finance website WalletHub, which released its annual list for 2025 on Tuesday. According to WalletHub, data on over 600 community colleges in the U.S. for 2025 was analyzed. Factors such as cost and financing and employment outcomes post graduation were considered.
Nationwide rankings
What we know:
Eight California community colleges were listed among the top 20 in the nation.
They are:
- Woodland Community College, Woodland (#4)
- De Anza College, Cupertino (#5)
- College of San Mateo, San Mateo (#6)
- Saddleback College, Mission Viejo (#8)
- Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa (#9)
- Moreno Valley College, Moreno (#11)
- Irvine Valley College, Irvine (#12)
- Norco College, Norco (#18)
But despite having nearly a dozen colleges on the list, California actually ranked in the lower half nationwide among community colleges. This year, it ranked 21st in the nation.
Rankings by state
What we know:
These are California's top 10 community colleges based on the rankings:
- Woodland Community College, Woodland
- De Anza College, Cupertino
- College of San Mateo, San Mateo
- Saddleback College, San Mateo
- Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa
- Moreno Valley College, Moreno
- Irvine Valley College, Irvine
- Norco College, Norco
- Evergreen Valley College, San Jose
- Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa
What they're saying:
"A good community college minimizes costs for students while also providing an enriching learning experience that leads to high student retention and high graduation rates. The best colleges also help their students even post-graduation by offering employment services to help them find jobs with good salaries," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
"Finally, many of the best community colleges realize school isn’t the only place people learn, so they offer credit for life experiences."
The Source: This story is based on the 2025 community college rankings released by the personal finance website WalletHub. The rankings were determined by analyzing data from over 600 U.S. community colleges, considering factors such as cost, financing, and post-graduation employment outcomes.