Best colleges for Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, University of California-Berkeley leads: its Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering graduates earn a median $200,543 four years after finishing, against the field's $100,647 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Berkeley | $200,543 | +$99,896 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | $131,532 | +$30,885 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | $126,209 | +$25,562 |
| 4 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | $125,240 | +$24,593 |
| 5 | University of California-Santa Cruz | $118,290 | +$17,643 |
| 6 | University of California-San Diego | $118,150 | +$17,503 |
How big is the earnings gap between California Electrical programs?
$82,393 separates the top and bottom of this list — $200,543 at University of California-Berkeley against $118,150 at University of California-San Diego, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California Electrical graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $99,896 above the $100,647 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.