Free tool · federal data

What does this major pay at different colleges?

Pick a major, a degree level and a state. You get what graduates of each college's program earned four years after graduating and what they borrowed in federal loans, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, with the national median for the same program as the yardstick.

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Communications, bachelor's programs in California

Among 36 California bachelor's programs in Communications with federal earnings data, Santa Clara University graduates earn the highest median, $84,206 four years after graduating, with a median federal debt of $17,832. University of Southern California follows at $75,864. The national median for bachelor's graduates in the same program is $56,359. (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard.)

Programs with data
36
Highest median
$84,206
National median
$56,359
The link opens this exact comparison.
Communications, bachelor's programs in California: median earnings four years after graduating and median federal debt, in order of earnings.
CollegeMedian earnings, 4 yrs aftervs national medianDebt borrowed at this college (median)
Santa Clara University$84,206+49%$17,832
University of Southern California$75,864+35%$15,875
University of California, Berkeley$75,612+34%$11,100
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$75,223+33%$14,857
Chapman University$73,461+30%$18,777
University of California-Santa Barbara$72,976+29%$13,000
University of California-Davis$72,778+29%$13,000
Loyola Marymount University$69,144+23%$17,750
University of San Diego$68,913+22%$24,000
Sonoma State University$68,833+22%$17,877
University of San Francisco$68,592+22%$21,875
University of California-San Diego$67,302+19%$13,193
University of La Verne$66,891+19%$22,655
Saint Mary's College of California$64,456+14%$19,500
San Francisco State University$63,731+13%$13,703
Ashford University$61,909+10%$33,341
California Lutheran University$61,653+9%$20,802
San Diego State University$61,389+9%$15,000
California Baptist University$60,883+8%$25,000
California State University-San Marcos$59,842+6%$14,545
California State University-Sacramento$59,404+5%$15,000
California State University-Channel Islands$59,332+5%$13,429
California State University-Chico$58,391+4%$16,125
California State University-Long Beach$58,137+3%$13,766
California State University-Fullerton$58,082+3%$13,000

The 25 highest of 36 programs. Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality.

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Same major, other degree levels in California: Associate's · Undergraduate certificate · Master's

Communications colleges in CaliforniaThe Communications major guideHow much the college matters, by major

What these numbers are

Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed, and a multi-state system whose figure pools campuses in several states is left out of state lists. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Federal program group: Communication and Media Studies. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates work as well as the program itself.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV).