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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > California > Palm Desert
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Palm Desert 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); 8 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Naval Air Station North Island (Cleveland National Forest Survival Training), about 33 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (2 Navy, 2 Air Force, 3 Marine Corps, 1 Other). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is University of California-Riverside in Riverside, CA, about 57 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. Palm Desert has a population of about 51,551 and a median household income of $79,508; 39.9 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 Palm Desert 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 Palm Desert. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
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 | 86 mi |
| California State University-Fullerton | Fullerton, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 85.3 | 88 mi |
| University of California-Riverside | Riverside, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 84.1 | 57 mi |
| San Diego State University | San Diego, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 83.7 | 78 mi |
| California State University-San Bernardino | San Bernardino, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 78.4 | 63 mi |
| West Coast University-Orange County | Anaheim, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 76.0 | 89 mi |
| Pacific College | Costa Mesa, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 75.6 | 87 mi |
| California State University-San Marcos | San Marcos, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 75.5 | 62 mi |
| ATA College | El Cajon, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 73.3 | 73 mi |
| Azusa Pacific University | Azusa, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 72.9 | 91 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 Palm Desert |
|---|---|---|
| Naval Air Station North Island (Cleveland National Forest Survival Training) | Navy | 33 mi |
| Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms | Marine Corps | 52 mi |
| March AFB | Air Force | 52 mi |
| March Air Reserve Base | Air Force | 52 mi |
| Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station (Fallbrook Annex) | Navy | 59 mi |
| Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton | Marine Corps | 64 mi |
| Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton | Marine Corps | 64 mi |
| Shade Tree Range | Other | 65 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $114,970 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $108,055 |
| Logisticians | $77,370 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $72,716 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $136,270 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $128,073 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $101,870 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $95,742 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $135,010 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $126,889 |
| Project Management Specialists | $100,770 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $94,709 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $99,030 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $93,073 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $98,700 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro | $92,763 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Palm Desert; the nearest is University of California-Riverside at 57 miles.
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.
