Best colleges for Social Work in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, La Sierra University leads: its Social Work graduates earn a median $69,244 four years after finishing, against the field's $51,790 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Sierra University | $69,244 | +$17,454 |
| 2 | California State University-San Bernardino | $69,201 | +$17,411 |
| 3 | San Francisco State University | $68,524 | +$16,734 |
| 4 | California State University-Long Beach | $68,448 | +$16,658 |
| 5 | University of California-Berkeley | $67,393 | +$15,603 |
How big is the earnings gap between California Social Work programs?
$1,851 separates the top and bottom of this list — $69,244 at La Sierra University against $67,393 at University of California-Berkeley, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California Social Work graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $17,454 above the $51,790 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.