Best Medical programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Plan, direct, or coordinate medical and health services in hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations, public health agencies, or similar.
100 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 8,772 people a year. The job pays a median of $141,480 in California across about 75,090 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.
20 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 | Public Health, Generalmain feeder CIP 51.2201In California → | 3,961 | 45.2% | 37 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 2 | Health/Health Care Administration/Managementmain feeder CIP 51.0701In California → | 1,278 | 14.6% | 40 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 3 | CIP 51.2001In California → | 1,037 | 11.8% | 14 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 4 | Public Health, Othermain feeder CIP 51.2299In California → | 631 | 7.2% | 4 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 5 | Community Health and Preventive Medicinemain feeder CIP 51.2208In California → | 371 | 4.2% | 15 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 6 | CIP 51.3818In California → | 295 | 3.4% | 17 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 7 | CIP 51.2210In California → | 272 | 3.1% | 8 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 8 | CIP 51.3820In California → | 265 | 3.0% | 4 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 9 | Health Services Administrationmain feeder CIP 51.2211In California → | 232 | 2.6% | 11 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 10 | CIP 51.3802In California → | 117 | 1.3% | 10 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 11 | CIP 51.0706In California → | 85 | 1.0% | 5 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 12 | CIP 52.0206In California → | 75 | 0.9% | 6 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 13 | CIP 51.2007In California → | 43 | 0.5% | 1 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 14 | Health Policy Analysismain feeder CIP 44.0503In California → | 37 | 0.4% | 4 | $44,740 | $22,000 |
| 15 | CIP 51.0702In California → | 24 | 0.3% | 3 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 16 | CIP 52.0210In California → | 20 | 0.2% | 1 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 17 | CIP 51.2011In California → | 13 | 0.1% | 1 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 18 | CIP 51.2002In California → | 12 | 0.1% | 1 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 19 | Long Term Care Administration/Managementmain feeder CIP 51.0718In California → | 3 | 0.0% | 1 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
| 20 | Regulatory Science/Affairsmain feeder CIP 51.0720In California → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $30,774 | $17,375 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 26 of the 100 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 · 1 feeder programs | 796 | Public Health, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 2 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 9 feeder programs | 717 | Public Health, General | $36,300 | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 3 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 461 | Public Health, General | $39,011 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 4 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 6 feeder programs | 453 | Public Health, Other | $39,144 | 86% | — | 27% |
| 5 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 5 feeder programs | 441 | Public Health, Other | $35,463 | 87% | — | 29% |
| 6 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 381 | Public Health, General | $34,909 | 70% | — | 91% |
| 7 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 311 | Public Health, General | $48,351 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 8 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 288 | Public Health, General | $41,092 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 9 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 244 | Public Health, Other | — | 93% | — | 9% |
| 10 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 243 | Health/Health Care Administration/Management | $43,594 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 11 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 215 | Public Health, General | — | 69% | — | 85% |
| 12 | University of California - San Francisco San Francisco, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 208 | Pharmacy | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | National University San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 206 | Public Health, General | $52,057 | 43% | $31,817 | — |
| 14 | University of the Pacific Stockton, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 205 | Pharmacy | — | 69% | $23,964 | 71% |
| 15 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 204 | Clinical Nurse Leader | $101,731 | 70% | $37,121 | 62% |
| 16 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 186 | Public Health, General | $40,750 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 17 | West Coast University - Anaheim - Orange County Anaheim, CA Private for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 171 | Health/Health Care Administration/Management | — | 60% | $36,879 | — |
| 18 | City College of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 151 | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | — | 40% | — | — |
| 19 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 149 | Public Health, General | — | 50% | — | 96% |
| 20 | California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 134 | Public Health, General | — | 48% | — | 97% |
| 21 | California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 128 | Public Health, General | — | 55% | — | 94% |
| 22 | California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 121 | Public Health, General | — | 56% | — | 94% |
| 23 | Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 120 | Pharmacy | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | University of California - Merced Merced, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 111 | Public Health, General | $36,555 | 69% | — | 91% |
| 25 | Western University of Health Sciences Pomona, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 108 | Pharmacy | — | — | — | — |
All 100 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 | 796 | 1 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 717 | 9 |
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 461 | 2 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 453 | 6 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 441 | 5 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 381 | 2 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 311 | 2 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 288 | 3 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 244 | 4 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 243 | 2 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose | Public | 215 | 2 |
| University of California - San Francisco | San Francisco | Public | 208 | 4 |
| National University | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 206 | 2 |
| University of the Pacific | Stockton | Private not-for-profit | 205 | 2 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 204 | 3 |
What medical and health services managers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $123,860. 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 Medical and Health Services Managers page.
How to become a Medical
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
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 25 majors mapped to Medical and Health Services Managers24 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.8201Veterinary Administrative Services, General
- 01.8202Veterinary Office Management/Administration
- 26.0509Infectious Disease and Global Health
- 44.0503Health Policy Analysis
- 51.0701Health/Health Care Administration/Management
- 51.0702Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management
- 51.0704Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor
- 51.0706Health Information/Medical Records Administration/Administrator
- 51.0718Long Term Care Administration/Management
- 51.0719Clinical Research Coordinator
- 51.0720Regulatory Science/Affairs
- 51.0721Disease Registry Data Management
- 51.0722Healthcare Innovation
- 51.2001Pharmacy
- 51.2002Pharmacy Administration and Pharmacy Policy and Regulatory Affairs
- 51.2007Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics
- 51.2008Clinical, Hospital, and Managed Care Pharmacy
- 51.2011Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management
- 51.2201Public Health, General
- 51.2208Community Health and Preventive Medicine
- 51.2210International Public Health/International Health
- 51.2211Health Services Administration
- 51.2213Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality
- 51.2214Public Health Genetics(no graduates reported)
- 51.2299Public Health, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing medical and health services managers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Medical?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Public Health, General, which awarded 3,961 degrees in California in 2024-25, 45.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Medical?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 20 programs to this occupation. The largest are Public Health, Health and Medical Administrative Services, Pharmacy, Registered Nursing, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 8,772 people a year in California.
How much do medical and health services managers earn in California?+
The median is $141,480 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 14.2% above the U.S. median of $123,860. 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 medical and health services managers growing?+
BLS projects a +23.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 62,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
100 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 20 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 medical and health services managers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Nursing Director, Clinical Director, Health Information Manager (HIM Manager), Health Information Management Director (HIM Director) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-9111.
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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