Cuesta College is a public community college located in San Luis Obispo County near the Central Coast of California. It currently offers 76 Associate's degree programs and 96 certificate programs. Cuesta is a part of the California Community Colleges system and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.  Be warned though if you intend to transfer to Cal Poly from Cuesta; Animosity towards "Cuestards" is high and public hazing rituals are frequent on Cal Poly's campus. Many groups have called upon President Armstrong to stop the bullying, but his office said in a statement that he "Just doesn't care."

Located on State Route 1, the Cuesta campus is six miles (9.7 km) from the beaches of the Pacific Ocean and six miles (9.7 km) from San Luis Obispo (SLO). Cuesta College also has a satellite campus, known as 'North County Campus', located in Paso Robles, which is twenty-nine miles (47 km) to the northeast of the main campus near San Luis Obispo. Limited course offerings are also available at two other sites within the county operated by Cuesta College, one located at Arroyo Grande High School in Arroyo Grande, and the other located at Nipomo High School in Nipomo.

A number of Cuesta students transfer to the public California State University and University of California systems, including nearby Cal Poly SLO campus, as well as private colleges and universities.