Best Counselor, All Other programs in California, ranked by enrollment
All counselors not listed.
64 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 6,888 people a year. The job pays a median of $48,850 in California across about 10,770 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 | CIP 44.0701In California → | 4,571 | 66.4% | 37 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
| 2 | CIP 42.2803In California → | 2,119 | 30.8% | 26 | $33,805 | $27,000 |
| 3 | CIP 39.0701In California → | 134 | 1.9% | 12 | $32,226 | $26,000 |
| 4 | CIP 39.0799In California → | 50 | 0.7% | 3 | $32,226 | $26,000 |
| 5 | CIP 52.1006In California → | 11 | 0.2% | 2 | $49,084 | $26,536 |
| 6 | CIP 51.1506In California → | 3 | 0.0% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 17 of the 64 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 487 | Social Work | — | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 2 | California Baptist University Riverside, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 430 | Social Work | — | 62% | $26,940 | 85% |
| 3 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 365 | Social Work | $37,477 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 4 | University of Massachusetts Global Aliso Viejo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 355 | Social Work | $41,327 | 43% | — | — |
| 5 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 347 | Social Work | $42,925 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 6 | National University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 303 | Counseling Psychology | — | 43% | $31,817 | — |
| 7 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 287 | Social Work | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 8 | California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 233 | Social Work | $37,290 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 9 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 220 | Social Work | $36,916 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 10 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 204 | Counseling Psychology | — | 70% | $37,121 | 62% |
| 11 | California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 197 | Social Work | $39,145 | 55% | — | 94% |
| 12 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 192 | Social Work | $44,906 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 13 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 189 | Social Work | $34,447 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 14 | Golden Gate University San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 189 | Counseling Psychology | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 169 | Counseling Psychology | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | California State University - Chico Chico, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 168 | Social Work | $36,840 | 63% | — | 93% |
| 17 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 163 | Counseling Psychology | — | 88% | $44,094 | 48% |
| 18 | California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 159 | Social Work | $31,986 | 57% | — | 95% |
| 19 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 126 | Social Work | — | 70% | — | 91% |
| 20 | Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 123 | Counseling Psychology | $21,473 | 53% | $25,892 | 73% |
| 21 | Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 122 | Social Work | $33,089 | 62% | $20,686 | 88% |
| 22 | California State Polytechnic University - Humboldt Arcata, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 117 | Social Work | $35,693 | 49% | — | 98% |
| 23 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 115 | Social Work | — | 93% | — | 9% |
| 24 | Concordia University - Irvine Irvine, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 111 | Counseling Psychology | — | 58% | $26,609 | 66% |
| 25 | Pacifica Graduate Institute Santa Barbara CA, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 101 | Counseling Psychology | — | — | — | — |
All 64 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 Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 487 | 1 |
| California Baptist University | Riverside | Private not-for-profit | 430 | 3 |
| California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 365 | 1 |
| University of Massachusetts Global | Aliso Viejo | Public | 355 | 1 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 347 | 2 |
| National University | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 303 | 1 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 287 | 1 |
| California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento | Public | 233 | 1 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 220 | 1 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 204 | 1 |
| California State University - San Bernardino | San Bernardino | Public | 197 | 1 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 192 | 1 |
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 189 | 1 |
| Golden Gate University | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 189 | 1 |
| California Institute of Integral Studies | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 169 | 1 |
What counselors, all other earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $50,860. California pays below 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 Counselors, All Other page.
How to become a Counselor, All Other
- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
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 8 majors mapped to Counselors, All Other7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.5301Thanatology
- 39.0701Pastoral Studies/Counseling
- 39.0799Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Other
- 42.2803Counseling Psychology
- 44.0701Social Work
- 51.1506Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling
- 51.1510Infant/Toddler Mental Health Services(no graduates reported)
- 52.1006Executive/Career Coaching
Common questions
Answers for people weighing counselors, all other programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Counselor, All Other?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 4,571 degrees in California in 2024-25, 66.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Counselor, All Other?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work, Clinical, Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Human Resources Management and Services, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 6,888 people a year in California.
How much do counselors, all other earn in California?+
The median is $48,850 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.0% below the U.S. median of $50,860. 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 counselors, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +12.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 7,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
64 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.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
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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