Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > California > Palo Alto
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Palo Alto 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 Navpmossp Mountain View, about 7 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (1 Navy, 1 Air Force, 3 Coast Guard, 3 Other). 6 of the 10 schools have a campus within 30 miles; the closest is Palo Alto University in Palo Alto, CA, about 2 miles from city center. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is University of California-Berkeley. Palo Alto has a population of about 67,231 and a median household income of $220,408; 82.4 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Military-friendly online colleges near Palo Alto
Schools based in California that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
82%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$83,187
TuitionContact school for pricing
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 |
| University of California-Berkeley |
Berkeley, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
93.9 |
34 mi |
| Palo Alto University |
Palo Alto, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
92.2 |
2 mi |
| San Jose State University |
San Jose, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
86.3 |
15 mi |
| California State University-Sacramento |
Sacramento, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
81.7 |
90 mi |
| De Anza College |
Cupertino, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
80.8 |
7 mi |
| California State University-Stanislaus |
Turlock, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
80.6 |
72 mi |
| California State University-East Bay |
Hayward, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
79.2 |
19 mi |
| San Francisco State University |
San Francisco, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
78.9 |
29 mi |
| Sonoma State University |
Rohnert Park, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
76.2 |
72 mi |
| College of San Mateo |
San Mateo, CA |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
75.8 |
14 mi |
California has 146 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the California page lists them all.
Military installations near Palo Alto
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) |
Branch (from the name) |
Distance from Palo Alto |
| Navpmossp Mountain View |
Other |
7 mi |
| Pillar Point Air Force Station |
Air Force |
21 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Oakland |
Coast Guard |
28 mi |
| Coast Guard Station San Francisco |
Coast Guard |
31 mi |
| Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach (Concord Detachment) |
Navy |
42 mi |
| Military Ocean Terminal Concord |
Other |
45 mi |
| San Joaquin Depot Tracy |
Other |
47 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Monterey |
Coast Guard |
56 mi |
Common post-service careers near Palo Alto
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
| Information Security Analysts |
$176,120 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$159,529 |
| Logisticians |
$115,570 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$104,683 |
| Emergency Management Directors |
$173,540 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$157,192 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$136,140 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$123,315 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$171,210 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$155,082 |
| Project Management Specialists |
$135,120 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$122,391 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$133,360 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$120,797 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$177,400 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro |
$160,688 |
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 Palo Alto
- Palo Alto University (Palo Alto, CA), 2 mi, 4 of 4 services reported
- De Anza College (Cupertino, CA), 7 mi, 4 of 4 services reported
- College of San Mateo (San Mateo, CA), 14 mi, 4 of 4 services reported
- San Jose State University (San Jose, CA), 15 mi, 4 of 4 services reported
- California State University-East Bay (Hayward, CA), 19 mi, 4 of 4 services reported
- San Francisco State University (San Francisco, CA), 29 mi, 4 of 4 services reported
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.
