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Santa Maria, California has 5 accredited schools offering computer science programs. Santa Maria has a population of about 109,880. Median household income is $84,617 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 15.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area, the top-earning computer science-related role is Computer and Information Systems Manager at a median $207,760 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer computer science programs near Santa Maria, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Santa Maria city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
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 Maria. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California computer science page.
Santa Maria is part of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area (BLS area code 42200). 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developer | $158,290 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $145,487 |
| Computer Systems Analyst | $120,680 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $110,919 |
| Computer Network Architect | $128,990 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $118,557 |
| Database Administrator | $104,880 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $96,397 |
| Database Architect | $159,240 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $146,360 |
| Information Security Analyst | $130,770 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $120,193 |
| Computer Network Support Specialist | $88,670 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $81,498 |
| Computer User Support Specialist | $80,520 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $74,007 |
| Web Developer | $119,570 | CA statewide | $109,899 |
| Web and Digital Interface Designer | $103,430 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $95,064 |
| Computer and Information Systems Manager | $207,760 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $190,956 |
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.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 109,880 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $84,617 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 15.1% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) | 108.8 (above U.S. average) | BEA RPP 2024 |
| Computer Science-related employment in Santa Barbara County | 2,564 workers, 196 establishments | BLS QCEW 2024 annual |
Accredited schools offering computer science programs near Santa Maria are listed on this page, ranked by BOC Score and distance from the city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS and College Scorecard data on every site update, so it stays current as programs open and close.
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying computer science-related roles near Santa Maria are: Computer and Information Systems Manager ($207,760), Database Architect ($159,240), Software Developer ($158,290). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with California statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Arroyo Grande, CA is 15.4 miles from Santa Maria and has its own set of local computer science programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Santa Maria’s median household income of $84,617 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Santa Maria while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and California public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
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.
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Santa Maria:
Data verified: July 23, 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 Online Computer Science Programs in California (2026)
