Federal data
Private nonprofit four-year colleges in California by graduates' median earnings 4 years after
California private nonprofit four-year colleges, ranked by median earnings four years after completion, from College Scorecard (September 18, 2026). At least 5 colleges must report this figure for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 4 years after | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Institute of Technology | Pasadena | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $152,843 | 591 |
| 2 | Samuel Merritt University | Oakland | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $148,182 | 884 |
| 3 | Western University of Health Sciences | Pomona | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $142,369 | 1,093 |
| 4 | Harvey Mudd College | Claremont | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $137,100 | 209 |
| 5 | Stanford University | Stanford | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $136,959 | 5,471 |
| 6 | Marshall B Ketchum University | Fullerton | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $126,610 | 190 |
| 7 | Touro University | Vallejo | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $122,145 | 412 |
| 8 | Golden Gate University | San Francisco | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $115,758 | 1,084 |
| 9 | Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science | Los Angeles | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $112,516 | 361 |
| 10 | Southwestern Law School | Los Angeles | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $111,744 | 291 |
| 11 | Claremont McKenna College | Claremont | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $110,798 | 356 |
| 12 | Santa Clara University | Santa Clara | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $108,517 | 2,521 |
| 13 | Claremont Graduate University | Claremont | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $103,151 | 633 |
| 14 | Northeastern University | Oakland | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $101,903 | 58 |
| 15 | Fielding Graduate University | Santa Barbara | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $100,937 | 322 |
| 16 | Loma Linda University | Loma Linda | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $99,611 | 1,438 |
| 17 | California Western School of Law | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $97,824 | 216 |
| 18 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $95,739 | 18,280 |
| 19 | Dominican University of California | San Rafael | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $95,437 | 756 |
| 20 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $91,483 | 2,833 |
| 21 | The Wright Institute | Berkeley | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $91,098 | 203 |
| 22 | Thomas Jefferson School of Law | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $90,930 | 80 |
| 23 | Palo Alto University | Palo Alto | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $88,171 | 355 |
| 24 | Pacific Union College | Angwin | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $88,027 | 277 |
| 25 | University of San Diego | San Diego | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $85,309 | 2,799 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard, institution-wide rather than by one program.
How to read this. This is a whole-college figure across every program, not one program's graduates -- a college with mostly graduate or professional programs will show higher earnings than one that is mostly certificates. Completions shown alongside it are the latest IPEDS total on file.
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