Is Santa Clara University or UC Davis cheaper to attend for an in-state student?

For a California resident, UC Davis will usually be cheaper overall than Santa Clara University. UC Davis benefits from in-state UC tuition, while Santa Clara is a private university with a substantially higher sticker price. Even after adding housing, meals, campus fees, books, and personal expenses, Davis typically comes out well below Santa Clara’s total annual cost.

For the student who is prioritizing the lowest likely out-of-pocket cost before aid, UC Davis is the school that usually makes more financial sense. Its room and board costs are still significant, especially in the Davis area, but those expenses do not erase the big gap created by tuition. Santa Clara’s location in Silicon Valley also tends to keep living-related costs high, so the private-school tuition difference is not offset by cheaper housing or fees.

Santa Clara becomes worth a closer look for a student who may receive strong institutional financial aid or merit scholarships. Private schools sometimes discount tuition more aggressively than public universities, so an individual offer from Santa Clara could narrow the gap or occasionally beat a UC cost for some families. That said, without a specific aid package in hand, the safer assumption is that UC Davis will be less expensive for an in-state student.

For most California students looking at published cost of attendance, UC Davis tends to end up cheaper overall.