Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > California > Goleta
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Goleta 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 Santa Cruz Island, about 28 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (1 Army, 3 Navy, 1 Air Force, 3 Other). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is California State University-Channel Islands in Camarillo, CA, about 50 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. Goleta has a population of about 32,693 and a median household income of $118,039; 48.3 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Military-friendly online colleges near Goleta
Schools based in California that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Goleta 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.
How We Rank Schools
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:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Goleta.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
54%
Avg net price
$29,453/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 76%
- Programs offered: 4
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
73%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$62,152
Avg net price
$9,849/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 73%
- Programs offered: 29
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
11%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$38,861
Avg net price
$2,823/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
76%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$68,712
Avg net price
$30,109/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 80%
- Programs offered: 60
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
41%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$30,896
Avg net price
$22,733/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 84%
- Programs offered: 6
Source:Accreditor: Distance Education Accrediting Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
87%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$90,768
Avg net price
$16,665/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 95%
- Programs offered: 84
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
64%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,009
Avg net price
$5,652/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 79%
- Programs offered: 45
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
64%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$57,106
Avg net price
$32,647/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 85%
- Programs offered: 40
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
93%
Graduation rate
57%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,115
Avg net price
$7,021/yr
TuitionIn‑state$7,458
Out‑of‑state$20,058
Key stats
- Retention rate: 74%
- Programs offered: 103
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
62%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$72,379
Avg net price
$21,413/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 72%
- Programs offered: 44
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Nearest qualifying schools within 100 miles (any state)
| School |
Location |
Credit for military training |
Dedicated military contact |
DoD MOU member |
Student veteran org |
BOC Score |
Distance |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo |
San Luis Obispo, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
89.2 |
75 mi |
| University of Southern California |
Los Angeles, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
80.2 |
94 mi |
| California State University-Channel Islands |
Camarillo, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
75.7 |
50 mi |
| California State University-Northridge |
Northridge, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
75.1 |
77 mi |
| California State University-Bakersfield |
Bakersfield, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
74.3 |
76 mi |
| California State University-Los Angeles |
Los Angeles, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
73.0 |
100 mi |
| Loyola Marymount University |
Los Angeles, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
72.2 |
89 mi |
| California State University-Dominguez Hills |
Carson, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
70.1 |
100 mi |
| California Lutheran University |
Thousand Oaks, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
68.3 |
58 mi |
| Mount Saint Mary’s University |
Los Angeles, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
63.1 |
82 mi |
California has 146 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the California page lists them all.
Military installations near Goleta
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) |
Branch (from the name) |
Distance from Goleta |
| Santa Cruz Island |
Other |
28 mi |
| Naval Base Ventura County (Construction Batallion Center Port Hueneme) |
Navy |
42 mi |
| Vandenberg AFB |
Air Force |
44 mi |
| Channel Islands Angs |
Other |
47 mi |
| Naval Base Ventura County (Naval Air Station Point Mugu) |
Navy |
48 mi |
| Laguna Peak |
Other |
50 mi |
| Camp San Luis Obispo |
Army |
79 mi |
| Naval Reserve (San Nicolas Island) |
Navy |
84 mi |
Common post-service careers near Goleta
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
| Information Security Analysts |
$130,770 |
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro |
$120,193 |
| Logisticians |
$92,540 |
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro |
$85,055 |
| Emergency Management Directors |
$129,910 |
CA statewide |
$119,403 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$120,900 |
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro |
$111,121 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$130,290 |
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro |
$119,752 |
| Project Management Specialists |
$106,250 |
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro |
$97,656 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$101,310 |
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro |
$93,116 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$115,880 |
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro |
$106,507 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Campuses within 30 miles of Goleta
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Goleta; the nearest is California State University-Channel Islands at 50 miles.
Nearby cities
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.
