Best colleges for Plant Sciences in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo leads: its Plant Sciences graduates earn a median $82,487 four years after finishing, against the field's $56,567 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | $82,487 | +$25,920 |
| 2 | California State University-Fresno | $77,034 | +$20,467 |
| 3 | University of California-Davis | $72,335 | +$15,768 |
| 4 | California State University-Chico | $68,629 | +$12,062 |
| 5 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | $66,714 | +$10,147 |
How big is the earnings gap between California Plant Sciences programs?
$15,773 separates the top and bottom of this list — $82,487 at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo against $66,714 at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California Plant Sciences graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $25,920 above the $56,567 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.