Best Athletic Trainer programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses.
57 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 750 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,490 in California across about 1,760 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.
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 | CIP 31.0507In California → | 558 | 74.4% | 41 | $30,426 | $25,643 |
| 2 | CIP 51.0913In California → | 192 | 25.6% | 23 | $53,520 | $20,250 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 57 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 119 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 37% | — | — |
| 2 | Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 48% | — | — |
| 3 | MiraCosta College Oceanside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 41% | — | — |
| 4 | Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 48% | — | — |
| 5 | Southwestern College Chula Vista, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 35% | — | — |
| 6 | Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 48% | — | — |
| 7 | Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 30% | — | — |
| 8 | Lionel University Carpinteria, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Physical Fitness Technician | $46,831 | 67% | $28,929 | — |
| 9 | Riverside City College Riverside, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Physical Fitness Technician | $25,516 | 37% | — | — |
| 10 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Physical Fitness Technician | $19,869 | 45% | — | — |
| 11 | San Diego Miramar College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 48% | — | — |
| 12 | Moorpark College Moorpark, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 44% | — | — |
| 13 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Athletic Training/Trainer | — | 69% | — | 46% |
| 14 | Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 49% | — | — |
| 15 | Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Athletic Training/Trainer | $29,523 | 77% | $48,795 | 84% |
| 16 | California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Athletic Training/Trainer | $34,810 | 57% | — | 95% |
| 17 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Athletic Training/Trainer | — | 70% | — | 91% |
| 18 | Cerritos College Norwalk, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 31% | — | — |
| 19 | Cypress College Cypress, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 37% | — | — |
| 20 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Athletic Training/Trainer | $25,361 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 21 | California Baptist University Riverside, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Athletic Training/Trainer | — | 62% | $26,940 | 85% |
| 22 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Athletic Training/Trainer | $100,724 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 23 | Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Athletic Training/Trainer | $107,048 | 56% | — | — |
| 24 | Fresno City College Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 24% | — | — |
| 25 | College of the Desert Palm Desert, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Physical Fitness Technician | — | 31% | — | — |
All 57 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | Public | 119 | 2 |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Public | 70 | 1 |
| MiraCosta College | Oceanside | Public | 49 | 1 |
| Pasadena City College | Pasadena | Public | 36 | 1 |
| Southwestern College | Chula Vista | Public | 29 | 1 |
| Saddleback College | Mission Viejo | Public | 28 | 1 |
| Long Beach City College | Long Beach | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Lionel University | Carpinteria | Private for-profit | 21 | 1 |
| Riverside City College | Riverside | Public | 20 | 2 |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | Public | 19 | 2 |
| San Diego Miramar College | San Diego | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Moorpark College | Moorpark | Public | 17 | 1 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Diablo Valley College | Pleasant Hill | Public | 16 | 2 |
| Point Loma Nazarene University | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 1 |
What athletic trainers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $62,520. 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 Athletic Trainers page.
How to become a Athletic Trainer
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or 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 2 majors mapped to Athletic Trainers2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 31.0507Physical Fitness Technician
- 51.0913Athletic Training/Trainer
Common questions
Answers for people weighing athletic trainers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become an Athletic Trainer?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Physical Fitness Technician, which awarded 558 degrees in California in 2024-25, 74.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Athletic Trainer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Sports, Allied Health Diagnostic. Together they graduate about 750 people a year in California.
How much do athletic trainers earn in California?+
The median is $78,490 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 25.5% above the U.S. median of $62,520. 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 athletic trainers growing?+
BLS projects a +11.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 2,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
57 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 athletic trainers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Athletic Trainer, Personal Trainer, Athletic Instructor, Certified Athletic Trainer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-9091.
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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