Colleges in Bakersfield, California
Students looking for Bakersfield colleges will find a variety of options. There are at least eight colleges located in the Bakersfield area, many of which are focused on two-year programs. Other schools have branch locations in Bakersfield, which is California's ninth largest city.
Bakersfield College. This two-year public college, with an undergraduate enrollment of 17,770 (2013-2014) offers a variety of certificates and Associate degrees, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Some of its most popular programs include Biology; Business Administration; Nursing; and Psychology. The school's overall graduation rate is 18 percent and tuition and fees, as of 2013-14, were $1,324 for in-state students and $7,008 for out-of-state students, the NCES reports.
California State University, Bakersfield. With an undergraduate enrollment of 7,350 as of fall 2013, this four-year public college, often known as CSUB, offers distance learning as well as programs in Business Administration; Criminal Justice; Early Childhood Education; English, Nursing; Speech Communication; and many other fields. The school's overall graduation rate is 39 percent, and in-state tuition and fees were $6,675 as of the 2013-2014 school year. Out-of state students had tuition and fees of $17,935, according to the NCES.
Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield. Although its undergraduate enrollment is just 543 students, this four-year private for-profit college offers certificates, Associate and Bachelor's degrees. Accounting; Early Childhood Education; Law Enforcement Investigation; and Legal Assisting are among its significant fields of study. The overall graduation rate is 67 percent and tuition and fees for the 2013-14 year were around $12,464, according to the NCES.
San Joaquin Valley College - Bakersfield. This two-year, for-profit college has an undergraduate enrollment of 642 students, as of fall 2013. Programs with significant enrollment include Criminal Justice; Dental Assisting; Medical Assisting; and Respiratory care, according to NCES. The overall graduation rate is 53 percent and tuition and fees were $16,492 for 2013-2014, according to NCES reporting.
Kaplan College - Bakersfield. With an undergraduate enrollment of 512, this private for-profit college offers fields of study that include Criminal Justice; Dental Assisting; and Medical Assisting. The college's overall graduation rate is 76 percent, according to the NCES. Tuition and fees for its largest program, Medical Assisting, were $14,567 as of the 2013-2014 school year, the NCES states.
Milan Institute - Bakersfield. The fall 2013 enrollment at this private for-profit school was 411. Only certificate-based programs are offered and available in areas like cosmetology, massage therapy, manicure specialist, and medical assisting. The school's overall graduation rate is 50 percent and tuition and fees for its largest program, cosmetology, were $16,664, according to the NCES.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), adults with higher educational attainment generally earn more over their lifetimes than those with a high school education. Below is a list of median earnings based on educational achievement in Bakersfield that were obtained through the U.S. Census Bureau, and dating to 2012. Nationwide earnings are included for comparison as well.
Median Earnings | Bakersfield | Nationwide |
Less than high school graduate | $19,311 | $19,642 |
High school graduate or equivalent | $28,502 | $27,607 |
Some college or associate degree | $36,964 | $33,857 |
Bachelor's degree | $56,384 | $50,096 |
Graduate or professional degree | $72,989 | $66,109 |
In Bakersfield, the mean hourly wage is $20.98, which is just below the U.S. mean hourly wage of $22.33, according to the BLS. Students considering Bakersfield colleges may want to look at the list of occupational fields below to see what some of the highest paying fields in the city are. According to the BLS, as of May 2013, these were:
Occupational Area | Mean Hourly Wage |
Management | $51.02 |
Architecture and Engineering | $44.90 |
Legal | $43.89 |
Computer and Mathematical | $40.02 |
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical | $38.46 |
Students looking for more information on Bakersfield colleges, including graduate level education or career programs, can explore the links to the left side of this web page. For a full listing of Bakersfield colleges, take a look at our listings below and click on any of the links to obtain more program information.
Sources
College Navigator, National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?s=NM&ct=1+2+3&ic=2+3&of=1&od=0&id=442602
Earnings and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
Median Earnings in the Past 12 Months, United States Census Bureau, American Fact Finder. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF
Occupational Employment and Wages in Bakersfield-Delano, May 2013, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/ro9/oesbake.htm
USA Quickfacts, United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html