Best Art History Schools Near Los Altos, CA (2026)

Updated September 5, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Los Altos, California has 5 accredited schools offering art history programs, with tuition ranging from $16,005 to $50,205 per year for indexed programs. Los Altos has a population of about 30,736. Median household income is $250,001 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 87.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, the top-earning art history-related role is Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists at a median $141,960 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Art History Schools to Los Altos

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer art history programs near Los Altos, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Los Altos city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

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:

  • 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 Los Altos. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 5.7 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
95.0 BOC Score
Graduation rate 97%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $124,080
Avg net price $13,807/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 98%
  • Programs offered: 100

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA 8.8 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
77.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 90%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $109,183
Avg net price $50,062/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 94%
  • Programs offered: 65

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#3

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA 12.1 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
86.3 BOC Score
Graduation rate 78%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $78,988
Avg net price $13,760/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 87%
  • Programs offered: 118

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

University of California-Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA 25.8 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
  • Accredited
71.8 BOC Score
Acceptance rate 66%
Graduation rate 75%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $68,396
Avg net price $17,890/yr
Tuition
In‑state$16,005
Out‑of‑state$50,205
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 89%
  • Programs offered: 81

Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#5

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA 32.1 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
78.9 BOC Score
Graduation rate 67%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $68,077
Avg net price $12,278/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 83%
  • Programs offered: 102

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#6

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, CA 32.2 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
46.4 BOC Score
Graduation rate 73%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $49,414
Avg net price $53,909/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 90%
  • Programs offered: 25

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#7

Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga, CA 32.6 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
72.4 BOC Score
Graduation rate 76%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $78,812
Avg net price $30,378/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 85%
  • Programs offered: 67

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#8

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA 33.4 miles from Los Altos
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
20.7 BOC Score
Graduation rate 25%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $39,008
Avg net price $40,613/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 71%
  • Programs offered: 36

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California art history page.

Art History Wages Near Los Altos

Los Altos is part of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area (BLS area code 41940). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to California statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Curators $78,740 CA statewide $71,322
Archivists $97,550 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $88,361
Museum Technicians and Conservators $62,290 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $56,422
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators $58,240 CA statewide $52,754
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary $94,370 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $85,480
Writers and Authors $118,810 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $107,618
Graphic Designers $97,360 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $88,188
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists $141,960 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $128,587

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.

Los Altos at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Population 30,736 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income $250,001 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ 87.2% Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 110.4 (above U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Los Altos-Area Cities With Art History Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited art history schools are near Los Altos, CA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering art history programs near Los Altos. The closest is Stanford University in Stanford, CA (5.7 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is San Francisco State University (32.1 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying art history roles near Los Altos?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying art history-related roles near Los Altos are: Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists ($141,960), Writers and Authors ($118,810), Archivists ($97,550). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with California statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Mountain View instead of Los Altos?

Mountain View, CA is 2.4 miles from Los Altos and has its own set of local art history programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Los Altos an affordable place to study art history?

Los Altos’s median household income of $250,001 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Los Altos while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and California public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.

Learn More About Art History Programs

Other Programs Available in Los Altos

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Los Altos:

Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.

Back to Best Art History Schools in California: Online Programs (2026)