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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > California > Costa Mesa
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Costa Mesa offer fully online programs and report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024); 9 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, about 10 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (1 Army, 2 Navy, 1 Air Force, 1 Coast Guard, 1 Reserve, 2 Other). 5 of the 10 schools have a campus within 30 miles; the closest is Pacific College in Costa Mesa, CA, about 2 miles from city center. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. Costa Mesa has a population of about 110,538 and a median household income of $110,073; 43.6 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Schools based in California that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Costa Mesa city center, with BOC Score on each card. The tags on each card are the school’s own IPEDS answers for the four military services. The distance table further down covers the nearest qualifying schools regardless of state line.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Costa Mesa. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | Pomona, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 86.7 | 28 mi |
| California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 86.2 | 14 mi |
| California State University-Fullerton | Fullerton, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 85.3 | 15 mi |
| University of California-Riverside | Riverside, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 84.1 | 40 mi |
| San Diego State University | San Diego, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 83.7 | 79 mi |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 80.2 | 32 mi |
| California State University-San Bernardino | San Bernardino, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 78.4 | 49 mi |
| West Coast University-Orange County | Anaheim, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 76.0 | 10 mi |
| California State University-Channel Islands | Camarillo, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 75.7 | 73 mi |
| Pacific College | Costa Mesa, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 75.6 | 2 mi |
California has 146 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the California page lists them all.
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) | Branch (from the name) | Distance from Costa Mesa |
|---|---|---|
| Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station | Navy | 10 mi |
| Los Alamitos Reserve Center and Air Station | Reserve | 12 mi |
| Long Beach Fuel Complx | Other | 19 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Los Angeles-Long Bch | Coast Guard | 21 mi |
| Fort McArthur Family Housing Annex | Army | 22 mi |
| Defense Fuel Support Point San Pedro | Other | 23 mi |
| Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Corona | Navy | 27 mi |
| Los Angeles Air Force Base (Area B) | Air Force | 32 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $129,630 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $114,111 |
| Logisticians | $81,730 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $71,945 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $130,020 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $114,454 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $121,980 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $107,377 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $134,230 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $118,160 |
| Project Management Specialists | $108,310 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $95,343 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $106,290 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $93,565 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $127,500 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro | $112,236 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
