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2024 Best Finance & Financial Management Schools in California

19 Colleges in California
1,544 Finance Degrees Awarded
$61,293 Avg Early-Career Salary
Finance & Financial Management is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #14 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 19 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Finance & Financial Management Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,544 degrees in finance & financial management to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Finance & Financial Management School

Best Finance & Financial Management Schools in California Your choice of finance & financial management school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for finance & financial management schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Finance & Financial Management Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Finance
Bachelor's Degrees in Finance
Master's Degrees in Finance

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Finance & Financial Management Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Finance & Financial Management in California

The schools below may not offer all types of finance degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Finance

1
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
160 Finance Degrees Awarded
$68,821 Median Starting Salary

Santa Clara University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in finance & financial management. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 160 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available. Those finance & financial management students who get their degree from Santa Clara University make $7,528 more than the typical finance graduate.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from Santa Clara University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
204 Finance Degrees Awarded
12.3% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in finance & financial management has to look into University of San Diego. USD is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #187 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 204 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at USD in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, finance degree recipients usually earn about $58,434 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from University of San Diego

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
109 Finance Degrees Awarded
6.4% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in finance & financial management has to take a look at University of San Francisco. USFCA is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.

There were about 109 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, finance degree recipients typically earn around $60,883 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from University of San Francisco

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
115 Finance Degrees Awarded
$56,511 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in finance & financial management has to look into Loyola Marymount University. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Marymount is a great university overall.

There were approximately 115 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the finance program earn around $56,511 for their early career.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from Loyola Marymount University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
32nd Most Popular In CA

SMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Moraga. A Best Colleges rank of #188 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SMC is a great college overall.

There were roughly 20 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at SMC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from Saint Mary’s College of California

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Finance Degrees Awarded
38.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Thousand Oaks, CLU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 71st out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 47 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at CLU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the finance & financial management major at California Lutheran University earn $10,084 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from California Lutheran University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Finance Degrees Awarded
$77,672 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #181 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a great university overall.

There were about 31 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at Golden Gate University - San Francisco in the most recent data year. Those finance & financial management students who get their degree from Golden Gate University - San Francisco receive $16,379 more than the standard finance student.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from Golden Gate University - San Francisco

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
273 Finance Degrees Awarded
$43,894 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #299 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means CSUN is a great university overall.

There were about 273 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, finance degree recipients generally make an average of $43,894 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from California State University - Northridge

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In CA
10.7% Growth in Graduates

PLNU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego. This university ranks 69th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 28 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at PLNU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from Point Loma Nazarene University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
13th Most Popular In CA

Located in the suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #94 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Pepperdine is a great university overall.

There were roughly 8 finance & financial management students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in finance & financial management from Pepperdine University

Best Finance & Financial Management Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Finance & Financial Management Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Washington300837
Oregon266392
Nevada192296
Hawaii164112
Alaska11918

View All Rankings >

Finance & Financial Management is one of 21 different types of Business, Management & Marketing programs to choose from.

Finance Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
Finance1,275
Banking and Financial Support Services110
Other Finance and Financial Management Services83
Financial Planning & Services76

View All Finance Focus Areas >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Business Administration & Management61,616
Accounting7,141
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods5,860
General Business/Commerce2,956
Business Support & Assistant Services2,007
Real Estate1,988
Human Resource Management1,768
Marketing1,412
Entrepreneurial Studies1,401
Hospitality Management1,106

View All Finance Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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