Best Credit Counselor programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Advise and educate individuals or organizations on acquiring and managing debt. May provide guidance in determining the best type of loan and explain loan requirements or restrictions.
18 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 162 people a year. The job pays a median of $67,120 in California across about 2,160 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 52.0803In California → | 127 | 78.4% | 15 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0804In California → | 35 | 21.6% | 3 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
Top 18 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 18 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Valley College Valley Glen, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 32% | — | — |
| 2 | Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 48% | — | — |
| 3 | Golden Gate University San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Financial Planning and Services | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Financial Planning and Services | — | 70% | $23,129 | 76% |
| 5 | Glendale Community College Glendale, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 37% | — | — |
| 6 | Southwestern College Chula Vista, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 35% | — | — |
| 7 | Laney College Oakland, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 31% | — | — |
| 8 | Biola University La Mirada, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Financial Planning and Services | — | 68% | $26,727 | 74% |
| 9 | East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 37% | — | — |
| 10 | Los Angeles City College Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 29% | — | — |
| 11 | Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 46% | — | — |
| 12 | Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 31% | — | — |
| 13 | Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 34% | — | — |
| 14 | Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 37% | — | — |
| 15 | San Diego Miramar College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 48% | — | — |
| 16 | Fullerton College Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 34% | — | — |
| 17 | Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 30% | — | — |
| 18 | Rio Hondo College Whittier, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Banking and Financial Support Services | — | 25% | — | — |
All 18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Valley College | Valley Glen | Public | 49 | 1 |
| Pasadena City College | Pasadena | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Golden Gate University | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| California Lutheran University | Thousand Oaks | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Glendale Community College | Glendale | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Southwestern College | Chula Vista | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Laney College | Oakland | Public | 7 | 1 |
| Biola University | La Mirada | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| East Los Angeles College | Monterey Park | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Los Angeles City College | Los Angeles | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Pierce College | Woodland Hills | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Santa Ana College | Santa Ana | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Santa Barbara City College | Santa Barbara | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | Public | 4 | 1 |
| San Diego Miramar College | San Diego | Public | 2 | 1 |
What credit counselors earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $52,230. 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 Credit Counselors page.
How to become a Credit Counselor
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
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 3 majors mapped to Credit Counselors3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 52.0803Banking and Financial Support Services
- 52.0804Financial Planning and Services
- 52.0809Credit Management
Common questions
Answers for people weighing credit counselors programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Credit Counselor?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Banking and Financial Support Services, which awarded 127 degrees in California in 2024-25, 78.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Credit Counselor?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Finance and Financial Management Services. Together they graduate about 162 people a year in California.
How much do credit counselors earn in California?+
The median is $67,120 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 28.5% above the U.S. median of $52,230. 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 credit counselors growing?+
BLS projects a +3.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
18 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 credit counselors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Credit Counselor, Housing Counselor, Certified Credit Counselor, Certified Consumer Credit and Housing Counselor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2071.
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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