Career Training Path › Welding schools › California
Welding schools in California
California has 66 accredited campuses awarding welding credentials. If you finish and work as a welder in California, expect to start around $44,520–$48,480 and reach a median of $58,060 with experience; the top quarter earn $70,400 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 $32,198 in their first year, against $34,154 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What welders, cutters, solderers and brazers earn in California
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 26,060 employed in California. National median: $53,750.
Campuses in California, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: AptosBakersfieldBarstowBlytheClovisCoalingaColtonCosta MesaCovinaEl CentroEurekaFairfieldFresnoFullertonGardenaGlendaleHaywardImperialLa PuenteLancasterLivermoreLong BeachLos Altos HillsLos AngelesMaderaMarysvilleMercedModestoNapaNorwalkOaklandOrovillePasadenaPittsburgRancho CucamongaReddingReedleyRidgecrestRiversideRocklin
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Technical Institute of California Inc | Rancho Cucamonga | for-profit career college | 166 | $35,637 | $9,500 | 72% | $31,689 |
| Universal Technical Institute-Southern California | Long Beach | for-profit career college | 162 | $35,637 | $9,500 | 63% | $33,041 |
| Summit College | San Bernardino | for-profit career college | 226 | $33,746 | $7,600 | 62% | $33,244 |
| The Fab School | Rancho Cucamonga | for-profit career school | 118 | $33,701 | $4,449 | 95% | $41,696 |
| CET-San Diego | San Diego | non-profit career school | 82 | $32,198 | $8,500 | 87% | $26,071 |
| CET-El Centro | El Centro | non-profit career school | 49 | $32,198 | $8,500 | 93% | $27,129 |
| CET-Watsonville | Watsonville | non-profit career school | 26 | $32,198 | $8,500 | 83% | $21,229 |
| CET-Colton | Colton | non-profit career school | 16 | $32,198 | $8,500 | 72% | $23,513 |
| Advanced Career Institute | Visalia | for-profit career college | 163 | $27,776 | $8,023 | 81% | not reported |
| Merced College | Merced | Public community college | 150 | not reported | not reported | 36% | not reported |
| Butte College | Oroville | Public community college | 143 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| UEI College-Gardena | Gardena | for-profit career college | 112 | not reported | not reported | 60% | $34,105 |
| Cerritos College | Norwalk | Public community college | 109 | not reported | not reported | 31% | not reported |
| American River College | Sacramento | Public community college | 107 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Santa Ana College | Santa Ana | Public college | 68 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Palomar College | San Marcos | Public community college | 66 | not reported | not reported | 38% | not reported |
| Los Angeles Trade Technical College | Los Angeles | Public technical college | 59 | not reported | not reported | 35% | not reported |
| Palo Verde College | Blythe | Public community college | 58 | not reported | not reported | 31% | not reported |
| Long Beach City College | Long Beach | Public community college | 45 | not reported | not reported | 30% | not reported |
| Tri-Community Adult Education | Covina | Public community college | 44 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Yuba College | Marysville | Public community college | 44 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| Cerro Coso Community College | Ridgecrest | Public community college | 41 | not reported | not reported | 25% | not reported |
| Modesto Junior College | Modesto | Public college | 41 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | Public community college | 41 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| San Joaquin Delta College | Stockton | Public community college | 39 | not reported | not reported | 35% | not reported |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public community college | 36 | not reported | not reported | 26% | not reported |
| Victor Valley College | Victorville | Public community college | 36 | not reported | not reported | 62% | not reported |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | Public community college | 34 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Reedley College | Reedley | Public community college | 34 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Cuesta College | San Luis Obispo | Public community college | 33 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Riverside City College | Riverside | Public community college | 31 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| College of the Sequoias | Visalia | Public community college | 29 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| Cosumnes River College | Sacramento | Public community college | 29 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| Antelope Valley Community College District | Lancaster | Public college | 28 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Bakersfield College | Bakersfield | Public college | 27 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Institute of Technology | Clovis | for-profit career college | 27 | not reported | $9,703 | 74% | $29,228 |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | Public community college | 23 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Imperial Valley College | Imperial | Public community college | 22 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| College of the Redwoods | Eureka | Public community college | 21 | not reported | not reported | 34% | not reported |
| Barstow Community College | Barstow | Public community college | 20 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita | Public community college | 20 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Ventura College | Ventura | Public community college | 19 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Public community college | 18 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Sierra College | Rocklin | Public community college | 18 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Hacienda La Puente Adult Education | La Puente | Public community college | 16 | not reported | not reported | 77% | $9,138 |
| Shasta College | Redding | Public college | 14 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Madera Community College | Madera | Public community college | 10 | not reported | not reported | 35% | not reported |
| Coalinga College | Coalinga | Public community college | 9 | not reported | not reported | 43% | not reported |
| Chabot College | Hayward | Public community college | 8 | not reported | not reported | 47% | not reported |
| Solano Community College | Fairfield | Public college | 8 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Las Positas College | Livermore | Public community college | 7 | not reported | not reported | 53% | not reported |
| Lassen Community College | Susanville | Public community college | 7 | not reported | not reported | 31% | not reported |
| Cabrillo College | Aptos | Public community college | 6 | not reported | not reported | 38% | not reported |
| Hartnell College | Salinas | Public community college | 6 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| Los Medanos College | Pittsburg | Public community college | 6 | not reported | not reported | 41% | not reported |
| College of the Siskiyous | Weed | Public community college | 5 | not reported | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| El Camino Community College District | Torrance | Public community college | 5 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Laney College | Oakland | Public community college | 5 | not reported | not reported | 31% | not reported |
| Napa Valley College | Napa | Public community college | 5 | not reported | not reported | 43% | not reported |
| Columbia College | Sonora | Public community college | 4 | not reported | not reported | 27% | not reported |
| Fullerton College | Fullerton | Public community college | 4 | not reported | not reported | 34% | not reported |
| Pasadena City College | Pasadena | Public community college | 4 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Foothill College | Los Altos Hills | Public college | 2 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| San Bernardino Valley College | San Bernardino | Public community college | 2 | not reported | not reported | 28% | not reported |
| Glendale Community College | Glendale | Public community college | 1 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Rio Hondo College | Whittier | Public college | 1 | 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.