US College Programs

Mental Health and Addiction Services (Certificate) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 also report federal debt
  • Certificate in Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California mental health and addiction services certificate program pays its graduates $59,278 in their first year, $27,703 more than the national median. Coalinga College reports the highest first-year pay ($71,517), and Mt San Antonio College the lowest median debt ($10,000).

Median first-year pay$59,278National $31,575
Median pay after 5 years$65,844National $39,020
Median federal debt$13,080National $16,384
Debt-to-earnings19%National 46%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

Debt and first-year pay at every California mental health and addiction services program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Coalinga College$71,517
  2. Lemoore College$69,125
  3. Mt San Antonio College$59,278
  4. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts$53,451
  5. InterCoast Colleges-West Covina$37,997

Lowest median debt

  1. Mt San Antonio College$10,000
  2. Coalinga College$11,750
  3. Lemoore College$13,080
  4. InterCoast Colleges-West Covina$14,267
  5. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts$16,850

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Coalinga College16%
  2. Mt San Antonio College17%
  3. Lemoore College19%
  4. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts32%
  5. InterCoast Colleges-West Covina38%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to mental health and addiction services, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$65,200

Median pay in California. 60,310 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,360Top 10%: $103,050

Healthcare Social Workers

$89,660

Median pay in California. 17,690 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $54,220Top 10%: $134,880

Psychiatric Technicians

$49,140

Median pay in California. 14,100 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 22% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $40,880Top 10%: $88,090

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

$79,000

Median pay in California. 19,860 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,450Top 10%: $147,300

Common questions

Coalinga College in Coalinga reports the highest median first-year pay, $71,517. Its median federal debt is $11,750.

Related pages

Mental Health and Addiction Services (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked21 programs by pay and debt

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the mental health and addiction services certificate programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024