Best Chemist programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or.
132 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,820 people a year. The job pays a median of $97,860 in California across about 9,820 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.
6 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 | Chemistry, Generalmain feeder CIP 40.0501In California → | 2,644 | 93.8% | 131 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 2 | Chemistry, Othermain feeder CIP 40.0599In California → | 149 | 5.3% | 5 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 3 | CIP 51.2004In California → | 12 | 0.4% | 1 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 4 | Forensic Chemistrymain feeder CIP 40.0510In California → | 6 | 0.2% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 5 | Polymer Chemistrymain feeder CIP 40.0507In California → | 5 | 0.2% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 6 | Chemical Physicsmain feeder CIP 40.0508In California → | 4 | 0.1% | 1 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 23 of the 132 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 programs | 234 | Chemistry, General | $59,576 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 2 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 229 | Chemistry, General | $45,310 | 86% | — | 27% |
| 3 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 192 | Chemistry, General | $43,766 | 87% | — | 29% |
| 4 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 165 | Chemistry, General | $42,358 | 93% | — | 9% |
| 5 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 104 | Chemistry, General | $42,204 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 6 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 92 | Chemistry, General | $47,197 | 83% | — | 33% |
| 7 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 82 | Chemistry, General | $39,676 | 76% | — | 76% |
| 8 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Chemistry, General | $43,294 | 68% | — | 75% |
| 9 | Irvine Valley College Irvine, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Chemistry, General | — | 57% | — | — |
| 10 | Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Chemistry, General | — | 49% | — | — |
| 11 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 51 | Chemistry, General | — | 92% | $12,032 | 4% |
| 12 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Chemistry, General | — | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 13 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 47 | Chemistry, General | $43,603 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 14 | Fullerton College Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Chemistry, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 15 | Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Chemistry, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 16 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Chemistry, General | $39,700 | 75% | — | 66% |
| 17 | California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Chemistry, General | $40,402 | 55% | — | 94% |
| 18 | Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Chemistry, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 19 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 41 | Chemistry, General | — | 86% | — | 31% |
| 20 | University of California - Merced Merced, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 41 | Chemistry, General | $50,944 | 69% | — | 91% |
| 21 | Ohlone College Fremont, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Chemistry, General | — | 52% | — | — |
| 22 | Golden West College Huntington Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Chemistry, General | — | 49% | — | — |
| 23 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Chemistry, General | — | 94% | $17,608 | 3% |
| 24 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Chemistry, General | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 25 | San Diego Miramar College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Chemistry, General | — | 48% | — | — |
All 132 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 | 234 | 1 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 229 | 2 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 192 | 1 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 165 | 2 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 104 | 3 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 92 | 2 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 82 | 1 |
| California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona | Public | 60 | 1 |
| Irvine Valley College | Irvine | Public | 60 | 1 |
| Diablo Valley College | Pleasant Hill | Public | 54 | 1 |
| Stanford University | Stanford | Private not-for-profit | 51 | 1 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 49 | 1 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 47 | 1 |
| Fullerton College | Fullerton | Public | 46 | 1 |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Public | 45 | 1 |
What chemists earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $91,240. 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 Chemists page.
How to become a Chemist
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 14 majors mapped to Chemists13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 40.0501Chemistry, General
- 40.0502Analytical Chemistry
- 40.0503Inorganic Chemistry
- 40.0504Organic Chemistry
- 40.0506Physical Chemistry
- 40.0507Polymer Chemistry
- 40.0508Chemical Physics
- 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
- 40.0510Forensic Chemistry
- 40.0511Theoretical Chemistry
- 40.0512Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics(no graduates reported)
- 40.0599Chemistry, Other
- 40.1002Materials Chemistry
- 51.2004Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Common questions
Answers for people weighing chemists programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Chemist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Chemistry, General, which awarded 2,644 degrees in California in 2024-25, 93.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Chemist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry, Pharmacy. Together they graduate about 2,820 people a year in California.
How much do chemists earn in California?+
The median is $97,860 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.3% above the U.S. median of $91,240. 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 chemists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 6,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
132 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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 chemists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Chemist, Scientist, Research Chemist, Analytical Chemist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-2031.
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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