Best programs to become a mathematician in California
181 California schools offer programs that train mathematicians, graduating 9,809 people a year. Mathematicians in California earn a median of $126,710 across about 250 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for mathematicians. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in California are Mathematics; Applied Mathematics; and Mathematics and Computer Science (IPEDS completions).
Conduct research in fundamental mathematics or in application of mathematical techniques to science, management, and other fields.
14 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathematics, Generalmain feeder CIP 27.0101In California → | 6,489 | 66.2% | 175 | $48,772 | $21,544 |
| 2 | Applied Mathematics, Generalmain feeder CIP 27.0301In California → | 907 | 9.2% | 18 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 3 | Financial Mathematicsmain feeder CIP 27.0305In California → | 731 | 7.5% | 12 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 4 | Mathematics and Computer Sciencemain feeder CIP 30.0801In California → | 722 | 7.4% | 11 | $89,651 | $23,175 |
| 5 | Mathematics, Othermain feeder CIP 27.0199In California → | 254 | 2.6% | 6 | $48,772 | $21,544 |
| 6 | Computational and Applied Mathematicsmain feeder CIP 27.0304In California → | 186 | 1.9% | 6 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 7 | CIP 26.1199In California → | 148 | 1.5% | 6 | $72,338 | $18,500 |
| 8 | Applied Mathematics, Othermain feeder CIP 27.0399In California → | 145 | 1.5% | 3 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 9 | Computational Mathematicsmain feeder CIP 27.0303In California → | 143 | 1.5% | 5 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 10 | CIP 27.0503In California → | 69 | 0.7% | 2 | $59,718 | $20,150 |
| 11 | CIP 27.0502In California → | 7 | 0.1% | 1 | $59,718 | $20,150 |
| 12 | Mathematics and Statistics, Othermain feeder CIP 27.9999In California → | 4 | 0.0% | 1 | $59,063 | $21,500 |
| 13 | Topology and Foundationsmain feeder CIP 27.0105In California → | 3 | 0.0% | 1 | $48,772 | $21,544 |
| 14 | Mathematical Biologymain feeder CIP 27.0306In California → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 28 of the 181 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 6 feeder programs | 928 | Mathematics and Computer Science | $89,651 | 86% | — | 27% |
| 2 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 7 feeder programs | 687 | Applied Mathematics, General | $61,188 | 93% | — | 9% |
| 3 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 471 | Applied Mathematics, General | $71,814 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 4 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 5 feeder programs | 360 | Mathematics, General | $45,924 | 87% | — | 29% |
| 5 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 6 feeder programs | 332 | Financial Mathematics | $71,622 | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 6 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 296 | Mathematics, General | $46,447 | 83% | — | 33% |
| 7 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 195 | Applied Mathematics, General | $53,940 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 8 | Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 179 | Mathematics, General | — | 46% | — | — |
| 9 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 175 | Mathematics, General | — | 92% | $12,032 | 4% |
| 10 | Irvine Valley College Irvine, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 150 | Mathematics, General | — | 57% | — | — |
| 11 | El Camino Community College District Torrance, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 140 | Mathematics, General | — | 42% | — | — |
| 12 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 133 | Mathematics and Computer Science | $91,851 | 88% | $44,094 | 48% |
| 13 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 126 | Mathematics, General | $27,227 | 76% | — | 76% |
| 14 | De Anza College Cupertino, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 121 | Mathematics, General | — | 68% | — | — |
| 15 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · 5 feeder programs | 111 | Mathematics, General | $40,798 | 75% | — | 66% |
| 16 | Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 110 | Mathematics, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 17 | Grossmont College El Cajon, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 104 | Mathematics, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 18 | Ohlone College Fremont, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 99 | Mathematics, General | — | 52% | — | — |
| 19 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 97 | Mathematics, General | $32,162 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 20 | Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 93 | Mathematics, General | — | 26% | — | — |
| 21 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 93 | Applied Mathematics, General | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 22 | College of the Canyons Santa Clarita, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 89 | Mathematics, General | — | 45% | — | — |
| 23 | Cuyamaca College El Cajon, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 87 | Mathematics, General | — | 41% | — | — |
| 24 | Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 87 | Mathematics, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 25 | Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 86 | Mathematics, General | — | 36% | — | — |
All 181 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 928 | 6 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 687 | 7 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 471 | 4 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 360 | 5 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 332 | 6 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 296 | 3 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 195 | 4 |
| Los Angeles Pierce College | Woodland Hills | Public | 179 | 1 |
| Stanford University | Stanford | Private not-for-profit | 175 | 3 |
| Irvine Valley College | Irvine | Public | 150 | 1 |
| El Camino Community College District | Torrance | Public | 140 | 1 |
| Santa Clara University | Santa Clara | Private not-for-profit | 133 | 3 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 126 | 1 |
| De Anza College | Cupertino | Public | 121 | 1 |
| University of California - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz | Public | 111 | 5 |
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What mathematicians earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $126,710. California pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Mathematicians page.
How to become a mathematician
- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 20 majors mapped to Mathematicians17 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 26.1199Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Other
- 27.0101Mathematics, General
- 27.0102Algebra and Number Theory(no graduates reported)
- 27.0103Analysis and Functional Analysis
- 27.0104Geometry/Geometric Analysis(no graduates reported)
- 27.0105Topology and Foundations
- 27.0199Mathematics, Other
- 27.0301Applied Mathematics, General
- 27.0303Computational Mathematics
- 27.0304Computational and Applied Mathematics
- 27.0305Financial Mathematics
- 27.0306Mathematical Biology
- 27.0399Applied Mathematics, Other
- 27.0502Mathematical Statistics and Probability
- 27.0503Mathematics and Statistics
- 27.9999Mathematics and Statistics, Other
- 30.0801Mathematics and Computer Science
- 30.4901Mathematical Economics
- 30.5001Mathematics and Atmospheric/Oceanic Science(no graduates reported)
- 38.0102Logic
Common questions
Answers for people weighing mathematicians programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a mathematician?+
BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for mathematicians. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in California are Mathematics; Applied Mathematics; and Mathematics and Computer Science (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a mathematician?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in California are Mathematics; Applied Mathematics; and Mathematics and Computer Science (IPEDS completions). In all, 14 feeder programs graduate about 9,809 people a year in California (IPEDS completions).
How much do mathematicians earn in California?+
The median is $126,710 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.0% below the U.S. median of $126,710. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for mathematicians growing?+
BLS projects a -0.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
181 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 14 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do mathematicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Cryptographer, Mathematician, Research Scientist, Computational Scientist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-2021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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