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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > California > Santa Barbara
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Santa Barbara 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 27 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 43 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. Santa Barbara has a population of about 88,024 and a median household income of $101,672; 50.2 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 Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara. 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 Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 89.2 | 80 mi |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 80.2 | 87 mi |
| California State University-Channel Islands | Camarillo, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 75.7 | 43 mi |
| California State University-Northridge | Northridge, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 75.1 | 69 mi |
| California State University-Bakersfield | Bakersfield, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 74.3 | 73 mi |
| California State University-Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 73.0 | 92 mi |
| Healthcare Career College | Paramount, CA | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 72.7 | 97 mi |
| Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 72.2 | 81 mi |
| California State University-Dominguez Hills | Carson, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 70.1 | 92 mi |
| California Lutheran University | Thousand Oaks, CA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 68.3 | 50 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 Santa Barbara |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz Island | Other | 27 mi |
| Naval Base Ventura County (Construction Batallion Center Port Hueneme) | Navy | 35 mi |
| Channel Islands Angs | Other | 40 mi |
| Naval Base Ventura County (Naval Air Station Point Mugu) | Navy | 41 mi |
| Laguna Peak | Other | 43 mi |
| Vandenberg AFB | Air Force | 51 mi |
| Naval Reserve (San Nicolas Island) | Navy | 82 mi |
| Camp San Luis Obispo | Army | 84 mi |
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.
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Santa Barbara; the nearest is California State University-Channel Islands at 43 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.
