Best Computer Systems Analyst programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Analyze science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to develop and implement solutions to complex applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns.
143 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 8,524 people a year. The job pays a median of $127,720 in California across about 59,060 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 | CIP 11.0103In California → | 3,881 | 45.5% | 95 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 2 | CIP 11.0101In California → | 2,931 | 34.4% | 52 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 3 | CIP 11.0901In California → | 1,584 | 18.6% | 70 | $43,901 | $22,822 |
| 4 | Computer Systems Analysis/Analystmain feeder CIP 11.0501In California → | 128 | 1.5% | 14 | $51,805 | $46,000 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 14 of the 143 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of the People Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 2,005 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 2 | DeVry University - California Ontario, CA Private for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 635 | Information Technology | — | 22% | $35,320 | 99% |
| 3 | Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 252 | Information Technology | — | 48% | — | — |
| 4 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 250 | Information Technology | — | 86% | — | 27% |
| 5 | Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 230 | Information Technology | — | 26% | — | — |
| 6 | Westcliff University Irvine, CA Private for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 227 | Information Technology | — | 62% | $26,754 | 73% |
| 7 | City College of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 216 | Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | — | 40% | — | — |
| 8 | California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 204 | Information Technology | $42,180 | 55% | — | 94% |
| 9 | Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 154 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | 30% | — | — |
| 10 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 147 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $84,343 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 11 | Imperial Valley College Imperial, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 124 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | 45% | — | — |
| 12 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 123 | Information Technology | $45,355 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 13 | Mission College Santa Clara, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 123 | Information Technology | — | 39% | — | — |
| 14 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 123 | Information Technology | — | 88% | $44,094 | 48% |
| 15 | Cypress College Cypress, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 119 | Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | — | 37% | — | — |
| 16 | Fresno City College Fresno, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 93 | Information Technology | — | 24% | — | — |
| 17 | Cerro Coso Community College Ridgecrest, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 89 | Information Technology | — | 25% | — | — |
| 18 | West Los Angeles College Culver City, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 88 | Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | — | 28% | — | — |
| 19 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $79,763 | 79% | $36,488 | 45% |
| 20 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 87 | Information Technology | — | 45% | — | — |
| 21 | Minerva University San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 76 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | — | — | — | 3% |
| 22 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 74 | Information Technology | — | 70% | — | 91% |
| 23 | Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 72 | Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | — | 31% | — | — |
| 24 | East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 70 | Information Technology | — | 37% | — | — |
| 25 | Barstow Community College Barstow, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 69 | Information Technology | — | 39% | — | — |
All 143 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 the People | Pasadena | Private not-for-profit | 2,005 | 2 |
| DeVry University - California | Ontario | Private for-profit | 635 | 3 |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Public | 252 | 2 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 250 | 1 |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public | 230 | 2 |
| Westcliff University | Irvine | Private for-profit | 227 | 3 |
| City College of San Francisco | San Francisco | Public | 216 | 1 |
| California State University - San Bernardino | San Bernardino | Public | 204 | 1 |
| Long Beach City College | Long Beach | Public | 154 | 3 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 147 | 1 |
| Imperial Valley College | Imperial | Public | 124 | 1 |
| California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 123 | 1 |
| Mission College | Santa Clara | Public | 123 | 3 |
| Santa Clara University | Santa Clara | Private not-for-profit | 123 | 1 |
| Cypress College | Cypress | Public | 119 | 1 |
What computer systems analysts earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $105,850. 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 Computer Systems Analysts page.
How to become a Computer Systems Analyst
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 4 majors mapped to Computer Systems Analysts4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
- 11.0103Information Technology
- 11.0501Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst
- 11.0901Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
Common questions
Answers for people weighing computer systems analysts programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Computer Systems Analyst?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Information Technology, which awarded 3,881 degrees in California in 2024-25, 45.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Systems Analyst?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, Computer Systems Analysis. Together they graduate about 8,524 people a year in California.
How much do computer systems analysts earn in California?+
The median is $127,720 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.7% above the U.S. median of $105,850. 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 computer systems analysts growing?+
BLS projects a +8.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 34,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
143 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 computer systems analysts work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Systems Analyst, Programmer Analyst, Health Informaticist, Clinical Informaticist, Business Systems Analyst, Computer Systems Analyst among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1211.
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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