2025 Best Business, Management & Marketing Associate Degree Schools in California

Ranked #3 in popularity, business, management & marketing is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 46 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Business, Management & Marketing Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 23,058 associate degrees in business, management & marketing during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Business, Management & Marketing School for Your Associate Degree

The business, management & marketing associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality business, management & marketing program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on business, management & marketing students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of business, management & marketing students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt business, management & marketing students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized business, management & marketing related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for business, management & marketing students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Business, Management & Marketing Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Business, Management & Marketing Associate Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Business, Management & Marketing in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in business, management & marketing.

10 Top California Schools for an Associate in Business, Management & Marketing

1

Southwestern College
Chula Vista, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

335 Annual Graduates

Southwestern College is a great choice for individuals interested in an associate degree in business, management & marketing. SWC Chula Vista is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Chula Vista.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Southwestern College

2

Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

435 Annual Graduates

Saddleback College is a great option for individuals interested in an associate degree in business, management & marketing. Saddleback College is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Mission Viejo.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Saddleback College

3

FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

189 Annual Graduates

FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in business, management & marketing. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, FIDM Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles

4

Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

182 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Santa Rosa Junior College if you want to pursue an associate degree in business, management & marketing. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Santa Rosa Junior College

5

Cosumnes River College
Sacramento, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

325 Annual Graduates

Cosumnes River is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Sacramento.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Cosumnes River College

6

Mission College
Santa Clara, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

134 Annual Graduates

Mission College is a moderately-sized public college located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Mission College

7

Folsom Lake College
Folsom, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

165 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Folsom, Folsom Lake is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Folsom Lake College

8

Pasadena City College
Pasadena, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

790 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Pasadena City College is a public college with a very large student population.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Pasadena City College

9

Cerritos College
Norwalk, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

481 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public college with a very large student population.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Cerritos College

10

Rio Hondo College
Whittier, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

294 Annual Graduates

Located in the rural area of Whittier, RHCCD is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in business, management & marketing from Rio Hondo College

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Business, Management & Marketing students in the state of California that almost earned our Best Business, Management & Marketing Associate Degree Schools in California award.

Rank	College	Location
11	Modesto Junior College	Modesto, CA
12	Riverside City College	Riverside, CA
13	American River College	Sacramento, CA
14	City College of San Francisco	San Francisco, CA
15	Orange Coast College	Costa Mesa, CA

Best Business, Management & Marketing Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Business, Management & Marketing Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Oregon	35	702
Nevada	35	776
Washington	33	3,000
Hawaii	24	273
Alaska	22	166

View All Rankings >

Business, Management & Marketing Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management	18,298
Accounting	1,665
General Business/Commerce	1,266
Real Estate	398
Business Support & Assistant Services	392
General Sales & Marketing	264
Entrepreneurial Studies	233
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	186
Hospitality Management	176
Construction Management	56

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Amit Savargaonkar. More about our data sources and methodologies.