Best Online Counseling Programs in Pleasanton, CA (2026)

Updated June 11, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Pleasanton, California has 5 accredited schools offering counseling programs. Pleasanton has a population of about 77,500. Median household income is $186,206 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 68.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, the top-earning counseling-related role is Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselor and Advisor at a median $94,600 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Counseling Schools to Pleasanton

The 5 accredited institutions below are the closest among the 5 schools in our directory that offer counseling programs near Pleasanton. Distances are calculated from Pleasanton city center.

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 Pleasanton. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

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

Counseling Wages Near Pleasanton

Pleasanton is part of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area (BLS area code 41860). 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)
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor	$68,400	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$59,170
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselor and Advisor	$94,600	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$81,834
Marriage and Family Therapist	$77,210	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$66,791
Rehabilitation Counselor	$50,510	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$43,694
Counselor, All Other	$54,820	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$47,422
Social and Community Service Manager	$93,410	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$80,804

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.

Pleasanton at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	77,500	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$186,206	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	68.7%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	115.6 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024
Counseling-related employment in Alameda County	51,406 workers, 30,214 establishments	BLS QCEW 2024 annual

Other Pleasanton-Area Cities With Counseling Programs

Dublin, CA – 3.6 mi away (59,583 pop)
Livermore, CA – 6.7 mi away (89,840 pop)
San Ramon, CA – 7.3 mi away (75,639 pop)
Union City, CA – 8.7 mi away (75,322 pop)
Hayward, CA – 11.0 mi away (158,937 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited counseling schools are near Pleasanton, CA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering counseling programs near Pleasanton. The closest is Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, CA (17.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Santa Clara University (22.1 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying counseling roles near Pleasanton?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying counseling-related roles near Pleasanton are: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselor and Advisor ($94,600), Social and Community Service Manager ($93,410), Marriage and Family Therapist ($77,210). 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 Dublin instead of Pleasanton?

Dublin, CA is 3.6 miles from Pleasanton and has its own set of local counseling programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Pleasanton an affordable place to study counseling?

Pleasanton’s median household income of $186,206 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Pleasanton 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 Counseling Programs

Other Programs Available in Pleasanton

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

Data verified: June 11, 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.

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