Analysis · Geography · Fall 2025

The Inland Line

It is tempting to read California's admissions map as UC turning inland students down. The data says something else, and something worse: the applications are never sent. Counties ranked by how many UC freshman applicants they produce per 100 students who sat the state tests — with each county's offers-per-applicant beside it, so you can see what happens to the ones who do apply.

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San Francisco County sends 59 UC applicants per 100 students tested. Shasta County sends 7.Now read the right-hand column. Application rates vary 9× across these counties; selective-UC offers per applicant vary 1.7×. 9 of the ten counties that apply least are inland; 9 of the ten that apply most front the ocean or San Francisco Bay. The students who apply from Shasta do about as well as the students who apply from San Mateo. There are just far fewer of them.
Inland countyCoastal countyBar and number = UC freshman applicants per 100 students tested. Right-hand figure = selective-UC offers per applicant.
1ShastaInland70.74 offers per applicant
2YubaInland80.77 offers per applicant
3SutterInland90.83 offers per applicant
4KingsInland91.04 offers per applicant
5ButteInland100.77 offers per applicant
6KernInland110.84 offers per applicant
7TulareInland110.90 offers per applicant
8ImperialInland120.85 offers per applicant
9HumboldtCoastal130.66 offers per applicant
10StanislausInland140.85 offers per applicant
11FresnoInland140.89 offers per applicant
12MaderaInland160.78 offers per applicant
13San JoaquinInland160.91 offers per applicant
14SonomaCoastal170.84 offers per applicant
15SolanoCoastal170.66 offers per applicant
16MercedInland180.62 offers per applicant
17El DoradoInland180.88 offers per applicant
18San BernardinoInland190.71 offers per applicant
19NapaCoastal190.74 offers per applicant
20San Luis ObispoCoastal190.87 offers per applicant
21SacramentoInland200.81 offers per applicant
22RiversideInland210.74 offers per applicant
23MontereyCoastal210.95 offers per applicant
24PlacerInland210.87 offers per applicant
25VenturaCoastal220.92 offers per applicant
26Santa BarbaraCoastal240.94 offers per applicant
27Santa CruzCoastal240.95 offers per applicant
28San DiegoCoastal290.81 offers per applicant
29Los AngelesCoastal320.78 offers per applicant
30OrangeCoastal320.88 offers per applicant
31YoloInland330.89 offers per applicant
32Contra CostaCoastal350.79 offers per applicant
33Santa ClaraCoastal440.88 offers per applicant
34San MateoCoastal450.82 offers per applicant
35AlamedaCoastal450.86 offers per applicant
36MarinCoastal480.76 offers per applicant
37San FranciscoCoastal590.96 offers per applicant
UC applicants per 100 students tested = a county's UC freshman applicants (Fall 2025) over the number of students who sat the CAASPP Smarter Balanced tests in 2024–25, taking the smaller of the ELA and math counts. The two describe adjacent cohorts, not the same students, so the rate is a measure of a county's application habit rather than an individual's odds. Counties with fewer than 1,000 tested students are omitted. Offers per applicant counts UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, Davis, UCSB and Irvine, once per campus, over all UC applicants — and is computed only across schools where UC publishes a campus breakdown. A county is counted as coastal if it fronts the ocean or San Francisco Bay, which puts Solano and Contra Costa on the coastal side. This measures where applications come from, not why: application rates fold together course access, counselling, cost, and how far a family expects to send a child. Sources: UC Information Center, Admissions by Source School, Fall 2025 · CAASPP research files 2024–25.
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© 2026 Stewart Digital Affairs · 5055 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507 · Admitted California is an independent research project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the University of California, the California State University, any private college or university, the California Department of Education, or any high school named on this site. Every figure is drawn from public filings, each named on the methodology page.