Best Commercial programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys.
43 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,045 people a year. The job pays a median of $100,770 in California across about 5,300 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.
5 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 50.0401In California → | 591 | 56.6% | 16 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0404In California → | 202 | 19.3% | 7 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0402In California → | 131 | 12.5% | 14 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 4 | CIP 15.1701In California → | 106 | 10.1% | 12 | $63,554 | $17,750 |
| 5 | CIP 15.1503In California → | 15 | 1.4% | 2 | $68,912 | $25,236 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 43 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 277 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $32,816 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 2 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 116 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $34,845 | 50% | — | 96% |
| 3 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 80 | Industrial and Product Design | — | 70% | — | 91% |
| 4 | Los Angeles Trade Technical College Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 62 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 35% | — | — |
| 5 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 52 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $32,070 | 70% | $37,121 | 62% |
| 6 | California College of the Arts San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 48 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $28,673 | 61% | $40,041 | 91% |
| 7 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $64,846 | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 8 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 35 | Industrial and Product Design | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 9 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 86% | — | 27% |
| 10 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Industrial and Product Design | $37,395 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 11 | California State University - Monterey Bay Seaside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $30,378 | 59% | — | 97% |
| 12 | Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 24 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 56% | — | — |
| 13 | California State University - Chico Chico, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $27,573 | 63% | — | 93% |
| 14 | Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Industrial and Product Design | $31,172 | 66% | $44,867 | 82% |
| 15 | Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $20,829 | 34% | $40,294 | — |
| 16 | Palomar College San Marcos, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 38% | — | — |
| 17 | Los Angeles Valley College Valley Glen, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 32% | — | — |
| 18 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 45% | — | — |
| 19 | University of the Pacific Stockton, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 69% | $23,964 | 71% |
| 20 | Biola University La Mirada, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 68% | $26,727 | 74% |
| 21 | Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 62% | $20,686 | 88% |
| 22 | College of the Redwoods Eureka, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 34% | — | — |
| 23 | De Anza College Cupertino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Energy Systems Technology/Technician | — | 68% | — | — |
| 24 | Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $47,053 | 79% | $48,578 | 75% |
| 25 | Platt College - Ontario Ontario, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 58% | $28,453 | — |
All 43 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 - Davis | Davis | Public | 277 | 1 |
| San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public | 116 | 2 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 80 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Trade Technical College | Los Angeles | Public | 62 | 2 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 52 | 2 |
| California College of the Arts | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 48 | 2 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 43 | 1 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 35 | 2 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 34 | 1 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 28 | 1 |
| California State University - Monterey Bay | Seaside | Public | 27 | 1 |
| Foothill College | Los Altos Hills | Public | 24 | 2 |
| California State University - Chico | Chico | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Otis College of Art and Design | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 2 |
| Academy of Art University | San Francisco | Private for-profit | 19 | 1 |
What commercial and industrial designers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $83,910. California pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: California employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
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 Commercial and Industrial Designers page.
How to become a Commercial
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 5 majors mapped to Commercial and Industrial Designers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.1503Packaging Science
- 15.1701Energy Systems Technology/Technician
- 50.0401Design and Visual Communications, General
- 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
- 50.0404Industrial and Product Design
Common questions
Answers for people weighing commercial and industrial designers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Commercial?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Design and Visual Communications, General, which awarded 591 degrees in California in 2024-25, 56.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Commercial?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Energy Systems Technologies/Technicians, Engineering-Related Fields. Together they graduate about 1,045 people a year in California.
How much do commercial and industrial designers earn in California?+
The median is $100,770 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.1% above the U.S. median of $83,910. 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 commercial and industrial designers growing?+
BLS projects a +3.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
43 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 commercial and industrial designers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Designer, Design Engineer, Product Designer, Industrial Designer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1021.
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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