Best colleges for Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, California State University-Chico leads: its Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology graduates earn a median $64,274 four years after finishing, against the field's $48,842 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-Chico | $64,274 | +$15,432 |
| 2 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | $63,525 | +$14,683 |
| 3 | University of California-Davis | $62,011 | +$13,169 |
| 4 | California State University-Northridge | $59,940 | +$11,098 |
| 5 | California State University-Long Beach | $55,588 | +$6,746 |
How big is the earnings gap between California Ecology programs?
$8,686 separates the top and bottom of this list — $64,274 at California State University-Chico against $55,588 at California State University-Long Beach, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California Ecology graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $15,432 above the $48,842 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.