Colleges 55
Public 30
Graduates in 2023-24 1,056
Typical earnings 1 yr after $46,988
Typical earnings 4 yrs after $85,708
National, 4 yrs after $79,158
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo University of California-Irvine University of California-Berkeley University of California-San Diego California State Polytechnic University-Pomona California State University-Fullerton University of California-Los Angeles University of California-Santa Barbara University of California-Davis University of California-Riverside California State University-Long Beach California State University-Sacramento California State University-San Bernardino University of California-Santa Cruz University of California-Merced Azusa Pacific University California Institute of Technology California Lutheran University California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt California State University-Bakersfield California State University-Channel Islands California State University-Chico California State University-Dominguez Hills California State University-East Bay California State University-Fresno California State University-Los Angeles California State University-Northridge California State University-San Marcos California State University-Stanislaus Chapman University Claremont McKenna College Concordia University-Irvine Harvey Mudd College Loyola Marymount University Occidental College Pepperdine University Pitzer College Point Loma Nazarene University Pomona College Saint Mary's College of California San Diego State University San Francisco State University San Jose State University Santa Clara University Scripps College Sonoma State University Stanford University University of La Verne University of Redlands University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of Southern California University of the Pacific Westmont College Whittier College All physics programs in California Sorted by earnings four years after graduation. Click a heading to sort.
College Graduates (2023-24) Earnings 1 yr after Earnings 4 yrs after Median debt California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA 34 $42,890 $96,805 n/a University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 67 $38,899 $96,215 $10,605 University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 112 n/a $96,043 $13,911 University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA 69 $61,325 $95,018 $11,407 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA 25 $54,588 $87,856 n/a California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA 5 n/a $86,504 n/a University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 86 $58,575 $85,708 $13,856 University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 138 $64,520 $85,219 $12,804 University of California-Davis Davis, CA 45 $46,391 $78,569 $16,233 University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA 43 $34,470 $74,410 $17,500 California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA 32 $45,967 $70,462 $16,825 California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA 11 n/a $64,133 n/a California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA 9 n/a $62,004 n/a University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 43 $72,553 n/a n/a University of California-Merced Merced, CA 15 $46,988 n/a n/a Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA 0 n/a n/a n/a California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 22 n/a n/a n/a California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, CA 5 n/a n/a n/a California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA 4 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA 1 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Channel Islands Camarillo, CA 11 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Chico Chico, CA 8 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Dominguez Hills Carson, CA 7 n/a n/a n/a California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA 4 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA 6 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 5 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA 9 n/a n/a n/a California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA 13 n/a n/a n/a California State University-Stanislaus Turlock, CA 5 n/a n/a n/a Chapman University Orange, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA 6 n/a n/a n/a Concordia University-Irvine Irvine, CA 1 n/a n/a n/a Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA 22 n/a n/a n/a Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a Occidental College Los Angeles, CA 3 n/a n/a n/a Pepperdine University Malibu, CA 10 n/a n/a n/a Pitzer College Claremont, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a Pomona College Claremont, CA 19 n/a n/a n/a Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a San Diego State University San Diego, CA 21 n/a n/a n/a San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA 15 n/a n/a n/a San Jose State University San Jose, CA 16 n/a n/a n/a Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA 4 n/a n/a n/a Scripps College Claremont, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA 7 n/a n/a n/a Stanford University Stanford, CA 31 n/a n/a n/a University of La Verne La Verne, CA 1 n/a n/a n/a University of Redlands Redlands, CA 10 n/a n/a n/a University of San Diego San Diego, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA 10 n/a n/a n/a University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 22 n/a n/a n/a University of the Pacific Stockton, CA 2 n/a n/a n/a Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA 5 n/a n/a n/a Whittier College Whittier, CA 3 n/a n/a n/a
Frequently asked questions How many colleges in California offer physics? 55 colleges in California awarded bachelor's degrees in physics in 2022-23 or 2023-24, 30 of them public.
Where do physics graduates earn the most in California? California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, with median earnings of $96,805 four years after graduation (programs with at least 5 graduates).
Physics nationwide · All colleges in California
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field of study file, data release of October 15, 2026. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working, not enrolled. One-year figures: graduates of 2020-21 and 2021-22, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Four-year figures: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. More on the data .