Best colleges for Journalism 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 Journalism graduates earn a median $79,776 four years after finishing, against the field's $56,278 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Southern California | $79,776 | +$23,498 |
| 2 | Chapman University | $79,135 | +$22,857 |
| 3 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | $70,829 | +$14,551 |
How big is the earnings gap between California Journalism programs?
$8,947 separates the top and bottom of this list — $79,776 at University of Southern California against $70,829 at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California Journalism graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $23,498 above the $56,278 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.