2025 Best Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California

If you plan on getting your associate degree in mental & social health services, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #37 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 10 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Mental & Social Health Services Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 406 associate degrees in mental & social health services during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Mental & Social Health Services School for Your Associate Degree

The mental health services associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

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

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to mental & social health services students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other mental & social health services students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt mental & social health services 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 mental & social health services related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for mental & social health services students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Mental & Social Health Services Schools

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

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Mental & Social Health Services in California

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for mental & social health services students seeking a an associate degree.

10 Top California Schools for an Associate in Mental Health Services

1

Cuesta College
San Luis Obispo, CA

11 Annual Graduates

Cuesta College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in mental & social health services. Cuesta College is a large public college located in the rural area of San Luis Obispo.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from Cuesta College

2

Mt. San Antonio College
Walnut, CA

29 Annual Graduates

Mt. San Antonio College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in mental & social health services. Located in the large suburb of Walnut, Mt. SAC is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from Mt. San Antonio College

3

Napa Valley College
Napa, CA

12 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Napa Valley College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in mental & social health services. Napa Valley College is a small public college located in the small city of Napa.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from Napa Valley College

4

Yuba College
Marysville, CA

16 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Yuba College if you wish to pursue an associate degree in mental & social health services. Yuba College is a medium-sized public college located in the midsize suburb of Marysville.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from Yuba College

5

San Joaquin Delta College
Stockton, CA

28 Annual Graduates

Delta is a large public college located in the city of Stockton.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from San Joaquin Delta College

6

Allan Hancock College
Santa Maria, CA

10 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Santa Maria, Allan Hancock College is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from Allan Hancock College

7

West Hills College-Coalinga
Coalinga, CA

11 Annual Graduates

$72,116 Median Starting Salary

West Hills College-Coalinga is a small public college located in the town of Coalinga.

Mental & Social Health Services associate degree recipients from West Hills College-Coalinga get an earnings boost of approximately $24,674 over the average earnings of mental & social health services majors.

More information about a associate in mental & social health services from West Hills College-Coalinga

8

Fresno City College
Fresno, CA

25 Annual Graduates

Fresno City College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Fresno.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from Fresno City College

9

American River College
Sacramento, CA

12 Annual Graduates

American River is a very large public college located in the suburb of Sacramento.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from American River College

10

San Diego City College
San Diego, CA

24 Annual Graduates

San Diego City College is a large public college located in the large city of San Diego.More information about a associate in mental & social health services from San Diego City College

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

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Oregon	147	30
Washington	131	208
Nevada	112	20
Alaska	54	19

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Mental Health Services

Mental & Social Health Services is one of 34 different types of Health Professions programs to choose from.

Mental Health Services Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	291
Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician	115

Most Popular Majors Related to Mental Health Services

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Nursing	5,712
Allied Health Professions	4,271
Health Sciences & Services	4,204
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	1,827
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	1,154
Dental Support Services	801
Health & Medical Administrative Services	797
Public Health	200
Health/Medical Prep Programs	152
Communication Sciences	135

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). More about our data sources and methodologies.