Best Financial Examiner programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Enforce or ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing financial and securities institutions and financial and real estate transactions.
68 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,588 people a year. The job pays a median of $106,000 in California across about 4,200 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 52.0301In California → | 1,291 | 81.3% | 48 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 2 | CIP 52.1601In California → | 297 | 18.7% | 26 | — | — |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 22 of the 68 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 249 | Accounting | $68,904 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 2 | National University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 103 | Accounting | $61,037 | 43% | $31,817 | — |
| 3 | University of San Diego San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 99 | Accounting | $69,240 | 84% | $26,035 | 52% |
| 4 | Golden Gate University San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 81 | Taxation | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 54 | Accounting | — | 70% | — | 91% |
| 6 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Accounting | — | 68% | — | 75% |
| 7 | Chapman University Orange, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Accounting | $70,362 | 82% | $42,965 | 65% |
| 8 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Accounting | $78,417 | 88% | $44,094 | 48% |
| 9 | California Baptist University Riverside, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Accounting | $57,485 | 62% | $26,940 | 85% |
| 10 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 40 | Accounting | $70,960 | 79% | $36,488 | 45% |
| 11 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Accounting | $54,315 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 12 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Accounting | $72,588 | 70% | $37,121 | 62% |
| 13 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Taxation | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 14 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Taxation | — | 45% | — | — |
| 15 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Accounting | — | 53% | — | 91% |
| 16 | Vista Adult School Vista, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Accounting | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Accounting | $40,688 | 55% | — | 94% |
| 18 | University of La Verne La Verne, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Accounting | $58,985 | 63% | $45,461 | 71% |
| 19 | Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Accounting | — | 77% | $48,795 | 84% |
| 20 | DeVry University - California Ontario, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Accounting | $54,264 | 22% | $35,320 | 99% |
| 21 | Menlo College Atherton, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Accounting | $71,067 | 54% | $26,655 | 68% |
| 22 | Biola University La Mirada, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Accounting | $65,246 | 68% | $26,727 | 74% |
| 23 | Pepperdine University Malibu, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Accounting | — | 83% | $41,986 | 63% |
| 24 | Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Accounting | — | 62% | $20,686 | 88% |
| 25 | Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Accounting | $66,628 | 70% | $25,578 | 87% |
All 68 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 249 | 2 |
| National University | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 103 | 1 |
| University of San Diego | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 99 | 2 |
| Golden Gate University | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 81 | 2 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 54 | 2 |
| California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Chapman University | Orange | Private not-for-profit | 50 | 1 |
| Santa Clara University | Santa Clara | Private not-for-profit | 48 | 1 |
| California Baptist University | Riverside | Private not-for-profit | 43 | 1 |
| Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 40 | 2 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 38 | 1 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 32 | 1 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 31 | 2 |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | Public | 29 | 1 |
| California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 28 | 1 |
What financial examiners earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $94,160. 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 Financial Examiners page.
How to become a Financial Examiner
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Long-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 5 majors mapped to Financial Examiners4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 43.0121Suspension and Debarment Investigation(no graduates reported)
- 43.0405Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation
- 52.0301Accounting
- 52.0303Auditing
- 52.1601Taxation
Common questions
Answers for people weighing financial examiners programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Financial Examiner?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Accounting, which awarded 1,291 degrees in California in 2024-25, 81.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Financial Examiner?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Accounting and Related Services, Taxation. Together they graduate about 1,588 people a year in California.
How much do financial examiners earn in California?+
The median is $106,000 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 12.6% above the U.S. median of $94,160. 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 financial examiners growing?+
BLS projects a +18.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 5,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
68 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 financial examiners work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Bank Examiner, Examining Officer, Credit Union Examiner, Bank Secrecy Act Anti-Money Laundering Officer (BSA/AML Officer) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2061.
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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