UC Irvine and UCLA are among Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Top 100 public colleges this year in terms of the cost and value of their education.

UCLA ranked No. 10, while UC Irvine came in No. 21.

The rankings are based on the four-year colleges ""that exemplify excellent academics while keeping their in-state and out-of-state costs to a minimum,"" Kiplinger’s said.

Other California schools included UC San Diego (11), UC Berkeley (18), UC Santa Barbara (29), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (41), UC Davis (48) and UC Riverside (99).

""Despite rising tuition costs, there are still many first-rate institutions providing outstanding academics at an affordable price,"" says Fred Frailey, editor of Kiplinger’s. ""Schools like these prove graduates can enter the workforce with a great education — and without a huge cloud of debt looming.""

Although prices for public schools remain relatively modest compared with private institutions, annual increases continue to outstrip inflation, Kiplinger’s said.

The magazine cited College Board numbers showing the average total cost for in-state students in 2007-08 was $13,589, a 5.9 percent increase from the previous academic year. Total charges topped $24,000 for out-of-state students, up 5.4 percent from the previous year.

At UCI, the total in-state cost was $19,667. Total out-of-state cost was $39,287. And the average debt after graduation was $13,587. UCLA’s total costs were $20,969 for in-state students and $40,037 for out-of-state students. The average post-graduation debt was $15,996.

Kiplinger’s best value public colleges
1. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2. University of Florida
3. University of Virginia
4. College of William and Mary
5. New College of Florida
6. SUNY Geneseo
7. University of Georgia
8. SUNY Binghamton
9. University of Washington
10. UCLA
21. UCI