Home › ROI by State › California
Trade-School ROI in California
A California-specific cut of our national dataset: which trades pay back the most per tuition dollar, what schools cost, and where you can get paid to train instead of paying — all from official U.S. federal data. Free to cite with attribution to Explore Top Colleges. National report & full CSV →
Apprenticeship record mappings in California
329
sum across included trade rows
Trade-school net price range
$6,202–$27,923
/yr, depending on trade
Trades tracked in California
20
state × trade rows
This report includes only California trade rows with a published school-comparison page. Apprenticeship totals add the record counts in those rows; a source record may appear in multiple trades. They are not deduplicated counts of unique programs, sponsors, or current openings. Confirm application availability with the sponsor. Count definitions →
Best-value trades in California
Ranked by median graduate earnings (10 yrs after entry) per $1,000 of annual net price — a school-level value measure. Methodology.
| Trade | Value ($/$1k tuition) | Median net price/yr | Median earnings | Paid apprenticeships |
|---|
| Carpentry | $6,476 | $6,202 | $40,162 | 12 |
| Plumbing | $5,976 | $7,794 | $46,577 | 63 |
| Diesel Mechanics | $5,818 | $7,203 | $41,908 | 7 |
| Automotive Technology | $5,818 | $7,203 | $41,908 | 15 |
| Aviation Maintenance | $5,818 | $7,203 | $41,908 | 10 |
Get paid to train instead — in California
- 64 apprenticeship records matched to electrician — alongside a median $16,726/yr net price at schools in this category in California.
- 63 apprenticeship records matched to plumbing — alongside a median $7,794/yr net price at schools in this category in California.
- 36 apprenticeship records matched to hvac — alongside a median $26,871/yr net price at schools in this category in California.
- 24 apprenticeship records matched to electrical lineman — alongside a median $16,726/yr net price at schools in this category in California.
See all California trade schools & apprenticeships →
Compiled by Ikan Media Inc. from public federal data (U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard, U.S. DOL apprenticeship.gov, CareerOneStop). Independent site, not affiliated with any government agency. Free to cite with attribution. Source release periods differ; rebuilding this page does not re-verify records.
Full national dataset ·
source vintage and methodology.