Best programs to become a mechanical engineer in California
30 California schools offer programs that train mechanical engineers, graduating 5,003 people a year. Mechanical engineers in California earn a median of $130,900 across about 30,530 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for mechanical engineers. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in California are Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (IPEDS completions).
Perform engineering duties in planning and designing tools, engines, machines, and other mechanically functioning equipment.
2 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 | Mechanical Engineeringmain feeder CIP 14.1901In California → | 5,001 | 100.0% | 30 | $70,724 | $24,833 |
| 2 | Engineering Mechanicsmain feeder CIP 14.1101In California → | 2 | 0.0% | 1 | $77,174 | $26,966 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 26 of the 30 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 474 | Mechanical Engineering | $88,497 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 2 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 372 | Mechanical Engineering | $69,555 | 86% | — | 27% |
| 3 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 351 | Mechanical Engineering | $83,011 | 86% | — | 31% |
| 4 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 306 | Mechanical Engineering | $67,633 | 87% | — | 29% |
| 5 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 297 | Mechanical Engineering | $75,040 | 68% | — | 75% |
| 6 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 287 | Mechanical Engineering | $79,016 | 93% | — | 9% |
| 7 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 261 | Mechanical Engineering | $60,996 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 8 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 248 | Mechanical Engineering | $69,754 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 9 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 248 | Mechanical Engineering | $83,356 | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 10 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 236 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 92% | $12,032 | 4% |
| 11 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 214 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 12 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 172 | Mechanical Engineering | $71,359 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 13 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 171 | Mechanical Engineering | $65,252 | 70% | — | 91% |
| 14 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 162 | Mechanical Engineering | $75,231 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 15 | California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 156 | Mechanical Engineering | $66,462 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 16 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 148 | Mechanical Engineering | $62,554 | 76% | — | 76% |
| 17 | University of California - Merced Merced, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 131 | Mechanical Engineering | $67,096 | 69% | — | 91% |
| 18 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 117 | Mechanical Engineering | $55,405 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 19 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 116 | Mechanical Engineering | $81,108 | 83% | — | 33% |
| 20 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 84 | Mechanical Engineering | $81,865 | 88% | $44,094 | 48% |
| 21 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 73 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 94% | $17,608 | 3% |
| 22 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 57 | Mechanical Engineering | $72,647 | 50% | — | 96% |
| 23 | University of San Diego San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 51 | Mechanical Engineering | $77,962 | 84% | $26,035 | 52% |
| 24 | California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder program | 50 | Mechanical Engineering | $65,938 | 57% | — | 95% |
| 25 | California Baptist University Riverside, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 48 | Mechanical Engineering | $72,224 | 62% | $26,940 | 85% |
All 30 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 - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 474 | 1 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 372 | 1 |
| California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo | Public | 351 | 1 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 306 | 1 |
| California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona | Public | 297 | 1 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 287 | 1 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 261 | 1 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 248 | 1 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 248 | 1 |
| Stanford University | Stanford | Private not-for-profit | 236 | 1 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 214 | 1 |
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 172 | 1 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 171 | 1 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 162 | 1 |
| California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento | Public | 156 | 1 |
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 mechanical engineers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $104,110. California pays above 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 Mechanical Engineers page.
How to become a mechanical engineer
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor'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 3 majors mapped to Mechanical Engineers3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.1101Engineering Mechanics
- 14.1901Mechanical Engineering
- 14.4101Electromechanical Engineering
Common questions
Answers for people weighing mechanical engineers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a mechanical engineer?+
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for mechanical engineers. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in California are Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a mechanical engineer?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in California are Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (IPEDS completions). In all, 2 feeder programs graduate about 5,003 people a year in California (IPEDS completions).
How much do mechanical engineers earn in California?+
The median is $130,900 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 25.7% above the U.S. median of $104,110. 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 mechanical engineers growing?+
BLS projects a +9.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 18,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
30 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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 mechanical engineers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Stack Engineer, Design Engineer, Product Engineer, Project Engineer, Research Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2141.
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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