Best Environmental Science programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Perform laboratory and field tests to monitor the environment and investigate sources of pollution, including those that affect health, under the direction of an environmental scientist, engineer, or other specialist.
98 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,143 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,220 in California across about 6,010 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.
8 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 03.0104In California → | 1,390 | 64.9% | 73 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 2 | CIP 15.0506In California → | 414 | 19.3% | 19 | $36,407 | $10,250 |
| 3 | CIP 30.3301In California → | 142 | 6.6% | 10 | $37,223 | $20,968 |
| 4 | CIP 15.0508In California → | 112 | 5.2% | 12 | $36,407 | $10,250 |
| 5 | CIP 30.4401In California → | 42 | 2.0% | 3 | — | — |
| 6 | CIP 26.1006In California → | 32 | 1.5% | 4 | $39,202 | $18,000 |
| 7 | Science Technologies/Technicians, Othermain feeder CIP 41.9999In California → | 8 | 0.4% | 2 | $49,936 | $22,636 |
| 8 | CIP 30.4101In California → | 3 | 0.1% | 1 | — | — |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 21 of the 98 schools in this state.
All 98 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 - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 148 | 3 |
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 144 | 2 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 140 | 3 |
| California State Polytechnic University - Humboldt | Arcata | Public | 80 | 1 |
| Santiago Canyon College | Orange | Public | 79 | 1 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 77 | 1 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 66 | 3 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 65 | 2 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 62 | 2 |
| California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento | Public | 61 | 1 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 58 | 2 |
| University of San Diego | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 53 | 1 |
| Cuyamaca College | El Cajon | Public | 49 | 2 |
| Palomar College | San Marcos | Public | 49 | 1 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 49 | 1 |
What environmental science and protection technicians, including health earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $55,090. 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 Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health page.
How to become a Environmental Science
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Associate'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 11 majors mapped to Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health11 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0104Environmental Science
- 15.0506Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment Management and Recycling Technology/Technician
- 15.0507Environmental/Environmental Engineering Technology/Technician
- 15.0508Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/Technician
- 26.1006Environmental Toxicology
- 30.3301Sustainability Studies
- 30.4101Environmental Geosciences
- 30.4401Geography and Environmental Studies
- 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
- 41.0399Physical Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 41.9999Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing environmental science and protection technicians, including health programs in California.
What degree do you need to become an Environmental Science?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Environmental Science, which awarded 1,390 degrees in California in 2024-25, 64.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Environmental Science?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians, Sustainability Studies, Geography and Environmental Studies, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 2,143 people a year in California.
How much do environmental science and protection technicians, including health earn in California?+
The median is $61,220 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.1% above the U.S. median of $55,090. 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 environmental science and protection technicians, including health growing?+
BLS projects a +4.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 5,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
98 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 8 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 environmental science and protection technicians, including health work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Sanitarian, Environmental Health Officer (EHO), Environmental Technician (Environmental Tech), Soil Lab Technician (Soil Laboratory Technician) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4042.
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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