Best Mathematics Programs in California (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Mathematics Colleges in California
This page ranks the 30 Mathematics programs in California by median earnings of Mathematics graduates four years after completing, highest first. University of California-Los Angeles ranks 1st on this list, reporting median earnings of $99,269 for its graduates after completing.
Across the listed programs, the figure ranges from $99,269 to $28,236, with a median of $67,042. For 2 of the 30 listed programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one.
Public institutions account for 26 of the 30 programs, or 87%, while 4 are private nonprofit. California State University-Los Angeles posts the lowest average net price on the page, at $3,967.
University of California-San Diego ranks 1st on Azimuth's composite ranking among the 1,467 public and private nonprofit four-year institutions Azimuth ranks nationally.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA | $99,269 | $12,548 | $5,579 | 9.0% |
| University of California-Los Angeles ranks 1st on this list, reporting $99,269 in median earnings of Mathematics graduates four years after completing from a cohort of 193 graduates. | |||||
| 2 | Occidental College · Los Angeles, CA | $88,080 | $38,263 | $20,705 | 44.2% |
| A private nonprofit institution in Los Angeles, Occidental College posts an admission rate of 44% and median earnings of $88,080 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 3 | University of California-Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, CA | $85,391 | $16,109 | $9,231 | 33.0% |
| University of California-Santa Barbara reports $85,391 in median earnings of Mathematics graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $16,109. | |||||
| 4 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo, CA | $83,187 | $16,665 | $7,529 | 31.3% |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo reports median federal debt of $16,636 among Mathematics completers who borrowed, alongside median earnings of $83,187 four years after completing. | |||||
| 5 | University of California-Berkeley · Berkeley, CA | $80,654 | $13,481 | $5,311 | 11.0% |
| University of California-Berkeley ranks 4th on Azimuth's composite ranking among the 1,467 public and private nonprofit four-year institutions Azimuth ranks nationally and reports $80,654 in median earnings of Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 6 | California State University-Fullerton · Fullerton, CA | $80,055 | $6,555 | $3,315 | 90.5% |
| With an admission rate of 91%, California State University-Fullerton reports median earnings of $80,055 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 7 | University of California-San Diego · La Jolla, CA | $79,015 | $12,470 | $7,525 | 26.7% |
| University of California-San Diego reports $79,015 in median earnings of Mathematics graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $7,525 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 8 | California State University-Chico · Chico, CA | $77,891 | $14,480 | $9,902 | 92.7% |
| California State University-Chico ranks 8th on this list, with median earnings of $77,891 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 9 | University of California-Irvine · Irvine, CA | $77,472 | $14,251 | $8,123 | 28.6% |
| University of California-Irvine reports median federal debt of $16,950 among Mathematics completers who borrowed, and median earnings of $77,472 four years after completing. | |||||
| 10 | University of California-Davis · Davis, CA | $72,640 | $14,741 | $9,211 | 41.8% |
| An admission rate of 42% and median earnings of $72,640 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing are reported by University of California-Davis. | |||||
| 11 | San Francisco State University · San Francisco, CA | $71,323 | $12,278 | $9,341 | 96.4% |
| San Francisco State University reports $71,323 in median earnings of Mathematics graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $12,278. | |||||
| 12 | California State University-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA | $70,677 | $3,967 | $2,877 | 91.3% |
| California State University-Los Angeles reports $70,677 in median earnings of Mathematics graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $2,877 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 13 | California State University-Channel Islands · Camarillo, CA | $70,628 | $9,849 | $6,857 | 94.8% |
| An average net price of $6,857 for families earning under $30,000 is posted by California State University-Channel Islands, which reports $70,628 in median earnings for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 14 | University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA | $69,377 | $32,740 | $13,516 | 9.8% |
| A private nonprofit university in Los Angeles, University of Southern California admits 10% of applicants and posts a median federal debt of $2,750 among Mathematics completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 15 | California State University-Dominguez Hills · Carson, CA | $68,900 | $8,615 | $7,303 | 93.3% |
| Ranking 46th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, California State University-Dominguez Hills shows median earnings of $68,900 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 16 | California State University-Stanislaus · Turlock, CA | $65,184 | $6,067 | $3,938 | 98.1% |
| Admitting 98% of applicants, California State University-Stanislaus posts median earnings of $65,184 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $6,067. | |||||
| 17 | Sonoma State University · Rohnert Park, CA | $64,913 | $12,885 | $8,310 | 93.4% |
| Median earnings of $64,913 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing are reported by Sonoma State University, which admits 93% of applicants. | |||||
| 18 | California State University-Bakersfield · Bakersfield, CA | $64,470 | $5,652 | $3,536 | 93.9% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed at California State University-Bakersfield left with a median of $16,600 in federal loans, and the school's Mathematics graduates earned a median of $64,470 four years after completing. | |||||
| 19 | University of California-Riverside · Riverside, CA | $63,596 | $14,304 | $8,852 | 76.4% |
| University of California-Riverside ranks 31st on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, and its Mathematics graduates earned a median of $63,596 four years after completing. | |||||
| 20 | California State University-Northridge · Northridge, CA | $63,077 | $7,021 | $4,905 | 93.5% |
| An average net price of $7,021 coincides with median earnings of $63,077 for Mathematics graduates four years after completing at California State University-Northridge. | |||||
| 21 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona · Pomona, CA | $63,059 | $11,531 | $7,851 | 75.2% |
| Admitting 75% of applicants, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona reports median earnings of $63,059 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 22 | California State University-Monterey Bay · Seaside, CA | $62,943 | $13,663 | $9,970 | 97.4% |
| A median federal debt of $16,500 among Mathematics completers who borrowed is reported by California State University-Monterey Bay, which shows median earnings of $62,943 four years after completing. | |||||
| 23 | California State University-Long Beach · Long Beach, CA | $61,754 | $10,440 | $7,183 | 46.3% |
| On Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, California State University-Long Beach ranks 5th and reports median earnings of $61,754 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 24 | University of California-Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz, CA | $59,214 | $17,890 | $8,717 | 65.8% |
| Median earnings of $59,214 for Mathematics graduates four years after completing at University of California-Santa Cruz coincide with an average net price of $17,890. | |||||
| 25 | California State University-Sacramento · Sacramento, CA | $59,162 | $9,338 | $6,501 | 94.0% |
| California State University-Sacramento reports median earnings of $59,162 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing, with 73 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 26 | San Diego State University · San Diego, CA | $57,999 | $15,364 | $9,910 | 36.2% |
| A public university in San Diego, San Diego State University admits 36% of applicants and posts median earnings of $57,999 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 27 | California State University-San Bernardino · San Bernardino, CA | $57,603 | $4,564 | $2,681 | 93.7% |
| California State University-San Bernardino carries an average net price of $4,564, and its Mathematics graduates four years after completing earn a median of $57,603. | |||||
| 28 | California State University-Fresno · Fresno, CA | $55,664 | $7,000 | $5,105 | 95.3% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed left with a median of $14,505 in federal loans at California State University-Fresno, where Mathematics graduates four years after completing earn a median of $55,664. | |||||
| 29 | Chapman University · Orange, CA | $35,060 | $46,555 | $33,559 | 65.4% |
| Chapman University, a private nonprofit institution in Orange, ranks 920th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions and reports median earnings of $35,060 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 30 | University of Redlands · Redlands, CA | $28,236 | $30,031 | $28,287 | 82.7% |
| University of Redlands has an admission rate of 83% and an average net price of $30,031, alongside median earnings of $28,236 for its Mathematics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Mathematics graduates four years after completing, or two years for programs that report only a two-year figure, highest first. The figure is the median for federally aided completers of the program who were working and not enrolled, measured after completing. For 2 of the 30 listed programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one. The metric does not adjust for graduate school enrollment, cost, or who enrolls, and it is not a measure of teaching quality. The gap between University of California-Los Angeles and Occidental College is $11,189, and the spread from the top of the list to the bottom reaches $71,033.
Job market context in California
Mathematics graduates in California enter a labor market that links to occupations such as Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, Data Scientists, and other quantitative roles. The median annual wage across those occupations is $117,868, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $89,411. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 10.2% higher, with 11,210 projected openings a year, or about 406 openings a year for every hundred graduates, which is more projected openings than graduates. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. The ranking above uses the median earnings of graduates four years after completing, not the occupational wages shown here.
Related rankings
- Best Mathematics Programs in the United States
- Best Colleges in California
- Best Mathematics Programs in Pennsylvania
- Best Mathematics Colleges in California
- Mathematics Colleges in California for Social Mobility