Federal data
Highest earning master's business administration programs in California
California business administration programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University | Stanford | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $193,776 | 105 |
| 2 | University of California-Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public, 4-year | $172,128 | 324 |
| 3 | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $140,238 | 128 |
| 4 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $132,668 | 602 |
| 5 | Golden Gate University | San Francisco | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $130,290 | 81 |
| 6 | Saint Mary's College of California | Moraga | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $129,891 | 146 |
| 7 | University of California-Davis | Davis | Public, 4-year | $120,153 | 76 |
| 8 | University of California-Irvine | Irvine | Public, 4-year | $119,774 | 219 |
| 9 | Pepperdine University | Malibu | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $112,068 | 406 |
| 10 | California Lutheran University | Thousand Oaks | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $107,188 | 52 |
| 11 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public, 4-year | $105,754 | 78 |
| 12 | University of San Diego | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $105,707 | 97 |
| 13 | California State University-East Bay | Hayward | Public, 4-year | $101,245 | 89 |
| 14 | California State University-Fresno | Fresno | Public, 4-year | $98,988 | 110 |
| 15 | University of California-San Diego | La Jolla | Public, 4-year | $98,870 | 91 |
| 16 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $98,785 | 110 |
| 17 | California State University-Fullerton | Fullerton | Public, 4-year | $94,762 | 120 |
| 18 | Notre Dame de Namur University | Belmont | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $94,256 | 52 |
| 19 | Sonoma State University | Rohnert Park | Public, 4-year | $93,663 | 47 |
| 20 | Chapman University | Orange | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $91,418 | 69 |
| 21 | California State University-Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public, 4-year | $90,686 | 63 |
| 22 | California State University-San Bernardino | San Bernardino | Public, 4-year | $88,882 | 115 |
| 23 | California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach | Public, 4-year | $88,562 | 120 |
| 24 | University of Redlands | Redlands | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $88,318 | 401 |
| 25 | California State University-Monterey Bay | Seaside | Public, 4-year | $87,863 | 149 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.