Best colleges for East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, University of Southern California leads: its East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics graduates earn a median $64,421 four years after finishing, against the field's $51,642 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Southern California | $64,421 | +$12,779 |
| 2 | San Francisco State University | $61,603 | +$9,961 |
| 3 | University of California-Davis | $60,939 | +$9,297 |
| 4 | University of California-Los Angeles | $55,898 | +$4,256 |
How big is the earnings gap between California East Asian Languages programs?
$8,523 separates the top and bottom of this list — $64,421 at University of Southern California against $55,898 at University of California-Los Angeles, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California East Asian Languages graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $12,779 above the $51,642 national median for the field. Program-level medians come from federal tax records of graduates who received aid, so they track actual pay rather than advertised salaries.