Best Accountant programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others.
70 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,693 people a year. The job pays a median of $97,050 in California across about 175,360 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
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.
4 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 | Accountingmain feeder CIP 52.0301In California → | 1,291 | 76.3% | 48 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 2 | Taxationmain feeder CIP 52.1601In California → | 297 | 17.5% | 26 | — | — |
| 3 | Accounting and Business/Managementmain feeder CIP 52.0305In California → | 99 | 5.8% | 2 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 4 | Accounting and Financemain feeder CIP 52.0304In California → | 6 | 0.4% | 2 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 22 of the 70 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 249 | Accounting | $68,904 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 2 | National University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 103 | Accounting | $61,037 | 43% | $31,817 | — |
| 3 | University of San Diego San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 99 | Accounting | $69,240 | 84% | $26,035 | 52% |
| 4 | Touro University Worldwide Los Alamitos, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 92 | Accounting and Business/Management | — | 29% | $17,026 | — |
| 5 | Golden Gate University San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 81 | Taxation | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 54 | Accounting | — | 70% | — | 91% |
| 7 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Accounting | — | 68% | — | 75% |
| 8 | Chapman University Orange, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Accounting | $70,362 | 82% | $42,965 | 65% |
| 9 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Accounting | $78,417 | 88% | $44,094 | 48% |
| 10 | California Baptist University Riverside, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Accounting | $57,485 | 62% | $26,940 | 85% |
| 11 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 40 | Accounting | $70,960 | 79% | $36,488 | 45% |
| 12 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Accounting | $54,315 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 13 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Accounting | $72,588 | 70% | $37,121 | 62% |
| 14 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Taxation | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 15 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Taxation | — | 45% | — | — |
| 16 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Accounting | — | 53% | — | 91% |
| 17 | Vista Adult School Vista, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Accounting | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Accounting | $40,688 | 55% | — | 94% |
| 19 | University of La Verne La Verne, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Accounting | $58,985 | 63% | $45,461 | 71% |
| 20 | DeVry University - California Ontario, CA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 25 | Accounting | $54,264 | 22% | $35,320 | 99% |
| 21 | Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Accounting | — | 77% | $48,795 | 84% |
| 22 | Menlo College Atherton, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Accounting | $71,067 | 54% | $26,655 | 68% |
| 23 | Biola University La Mirada, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Accounting | $65,246 | 68% | $26,727 | 74% |
| 24 | Pepperdine University Malibu, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Accounting | — | 83% | $41,986 | 63% |
| 25 | Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Accounting | — | 62% | $20,686 | 88% |
All 70 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 249 | 2 |
| National University | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 103 | 1 |
| University of San Diego | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 99 | 2 |
| Touro University Worldwide | Los Alamitos | Private not-for-profit | 92 | 1 |
| Golden Gate University | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 81 | 2 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 54 | 2 |
| California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Chapman University | Orange | Private not-for-profit | 50 | 1 |
| Santa Clara University | Santa Clara | Private not-for-profit | 48 | 1 |
| California Baptist University | Riverside | Private not-for-profit | 43 | 1 |
| Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 40 | 2 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 38 | 1 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 32 | 1 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 31 | 2 |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | Public | 29 | 1 |
What accountants and auditors earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $83,680. 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, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Accountants and Auditors page.
How to become a Accountant
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
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 7 majors mapped to Accountants and Auditors7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
- 43.0405Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation
- 52.0301Accounting
- 52.0303Auditing
- 52.0304Accounting and Finance
- 52.0305Accounting and Business/Management
- 52.1601Taxation
Common questions
Answers for people weighing accountants and auditors programs in California.
What degree do you need to become an Accountant?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Accounting, which awarded 1,291 degrees in California in 2024-25, 76.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Accountant?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Accounting and Related Services, Taxation. Together they graduate about 1,693 people a year in California.
How much do accountants and auditors earn in California?+
The median is $97,050 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.0% above the U.S. median of $83,680. 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 accountants and auditors growing?+
BLS projects a +4.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 124,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
70 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 accountants and auditors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Auditor, Accountant, Financial Auditor, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2011.
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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