Which California neuroscience program has the lowest debt?

UC Davis reports the lowest median federal debt, $13,000, with first-year pay of $29,765.

How much do neuroscience graduates earn in California?

The median across 9 California neuroscience bachelor's programs is $30,501 in the first year after graduating and $69,515 five years after.

How many neuroscience bachelor's programs are in California?

9 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Neuroscience (Bachelor's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

9 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Neurobiology and Neurosciences

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California neuroscience bachelor's program pays its graduates $30,501 in their first year, $838 less than the national median. Pomona College reports the highest first-year pay ($39,967), and UC Davis the lowest median debt ($13,000).

Median first-year pay$30,501National $31,339

Median pay after 5 years$69,515National $67,515

Median federal debt$19,500National $22,927

Debt-to-earnings67%National 74%

All 9 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.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Pomona CollegeClaremont · private nonprofit	$39,967	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
2	USCLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$38,063	$78,242	$15,750	41%
3	University of San DiegoSan Diego · private nonprofit	$33,641	$84,851	$25,000	74%
4	UC San DiegoLa Jolla · public	$32,081	$69,515	$19,000	59%
5	UCLALos Angeles · public	$30,501	$79,689	$17,149	56%
6	UC DavisDavis · public	$29,765	$67,848	$13,000	44%
7	UC Santa CruzSanta Cruz · public	$25,034	$63,496	$19,500	78%
8	UC IrvineIrvine · public	$21,818	Not reported	$20,500	94%
9	UC RiversideRiverside · public	$19,286	$65,261	$19,803	103%

Pomona College reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every California neuroscience 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 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Pomona College$39,967
USC$38,063
University of San Diego$33,641
UC San Diego$32,081
UCLA$30,501

Lowest median debt

UC Davis$13,000
USC$15,750
UCLA$17,149
UC San Diego$19,000
UC Santa Cruz$19,500

Lowest debt for the pay

"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 neuroscience, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$136,990

Median pay in California. 29,830 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $81,320Top 10%: $180,060

Natural Sciences Managers

$210,230

Median pay in California. 14,950 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $130,730Top 10%: $330,050

Biological Technicians

$71,440

Median pay in California. 9,210 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,700Top 10%: $121,670

Common questions

Pomona College in Claremont reports the highest median first-year pay, $39,967.

Neuroscience (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked96 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 neuroscience bachelor's 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

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