Career Training Path › EMT & paramedic training › California
EMT & paramedic training in California
California has 50 accredited campuses awarding emt / paramedic credentials. If you finish and work as an emergency medical technician in California, expect to start around $38,740–$42,610 and reach a median of $46,380 with experience; the top quarter earn $59,180 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, California). Graduates of these California programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $74,422 in their first year, against $44,770 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What emergency medical technicians earn in California
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 21,880 employed in California. National median: $44,470.
Campuses in California, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: AngwinBakersfieldBarstowChula VistaConcordCosta MesaCulver CityEurekaFresnoImperialLake ForestLancasterLemooreLivermoreLong BeachLos Altos HillsMarysvilleMercedMission ViejoModestoMontereyMonterey ParkMoorparkMoreno ValleyNapaOaklandOrovilleOxnardPalm DesertPittsburgRancho CucamongaReddingRocklinSacramentoSan BrunoSan FranciscoSan Luis ObispoSan MarcosSan PabloSanta Clarita
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foothill College | Los Altos Hills | Public | 11 | $97,367 | $10,500 | not reported | not reported |
| Crafton Hills College | Yucaipa | Public | 248 | $90,748 | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Napa Valley College | Napa | Public | 4 | $79,902 | not reported | 43% | not reported |
| Merced College | Merced | Public | 29 | $77,678 | not reported | 36% | not reported |
| Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | Public | 495 | $71,167 | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | Public | 23 | $67,750 | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| University of Antelope Valley | Lancaster | for-profit | 64 | $54,974 | $7,810 | not reported | not reported |
| Victor Valley College | Victorville | Public | 496 | not reported | not reported | 62% | not reported |
| Palomar College | San Marcos | Public | 300 | not reported | not reported | 38% | not reported |
| Cuesta College | San Luis Obispo | Public | 167 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Butte College | Oroville | Public | 161 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Moreno Valley College | Moreno Valley | Public | 154 | not reported | not reported | 34% | not reported |
| Southwestern College | Chula Vista | Public | 119 | not reported | not reported | 36% | not reported |
| Saddleback College | Mission Viejo | Public | 91 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita | Public | 90 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public | 79 | not reported | not reported | 26% | not reported |
| Monterey Peninsula College | Monterey | Public | 76 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| College of the Sequoias | Visalia | Public | 73 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| City College of San Francisco | San Francisco | Public | 67 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| College of the Siskiyous | Weed | Public | 48 | not reported | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| Ventura College | Ventura | Public | 47 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| Mt. Diablo Adult Education-Mt. Diablo USD | Concord | Public | 41 | not reported | not reported | 81% | $14,341 |
| Skyline College | San Bruno | Public | 39 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Bakersfield College | Bakersfield | Public | 36 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Sierra College | Rocklin | Public | 34 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Yuba College | Marysville | Public | 23 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| College of the Redwoods | Eureka | Public | 18 | not reported | not reported | 34% | not reported |
| Lemoore College | Lemoore | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Los Medanos College | Pittsburg | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 41% | not reported |
| Chaffey College | Rancho Cucamonga | Public | 14 | not reported | not reported | 36% | not reported |
| Moorpark College | Moorpark | Public | 11 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Modesto Junior College | Modesto | Public | 9 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Long Beach City College | Long Beach | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | 30% | not reported |
| Imperial Valley College | Imperial | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Las Positas College | Livermore | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 53% | not reported |
| Oxnard College | Oxnard | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 34% | not reported |
| Barstow Community College | Barstow | Public | 5 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| American River College | Sacramento | Public | 4 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| El Camino Community College District | Torrance | Public | 4 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | Public | 4 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Columbia College | Sonora | Public | 3 | not reported | not reported | 27% | not reported |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Public | 3 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| West Los Angeles College | Culver City | Public | 3 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| College of the Desert | Palm Desert | Public | 2 | not reported | not reported | 31% | not reported |
| Shasta College | Redding | Public | 2 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Contra Costa College | San Pablo | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 28% | not reported |
| East Los Angeles College | Monterey Park | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Merritt College | Oakland | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 26% | not reported |
| Pacific Union College | Angwin | non-profit | 1 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Orange County EMT | Lake Forest | — | — | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.