Los Angeles, California has 5 accredited schools offering film programs, with tuition ranging from $15,203 to $49,403 per year for indexed programs. Los Angeles has a population of about 3,857,897. Median household income is $80,366 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 37.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, the top-earning film-related role is Producers and Directors at a median $131,600 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Film Schools to Los Angeles
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer film programs near Los Angeles, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Los Angeles 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:
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 Los Angeles.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Acceptance rate
9%
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$82,511
Avg net price
$12,548/yr
TuitionIn‑state$15,203
Out‑of‑state$49,403
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 161
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
62%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$72,379
Avg net price
$21,413/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 72%
- Programs offered: 44
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$92,498
Avg net price
$32,740/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 96%
- Programs offered: 267
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
54%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$42,014
Avg net price
$17,683/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 45%
- Programs offered: 3
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
81%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$78,349
Avg net price
$48,381/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 88%
- Programs offered: 80
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
83%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$75,951
Avg net price
$38,263/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 89%
- Programs offered: 33
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California film page.
Film Wages Near Los Angeles
Los Angeles is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (BLS area code 31080). 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) |
| Film and Video Editors |
$83,210 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$73,248 |
| Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film |
$107,620 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$94,736 |
| Producers and Directors |
$131,600 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$115,845 |
| Special Effects Artists and Animators |
$124,590 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$109,674 |
| Audio and Video Technicians |
$64,900 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$57,130 |
| Sound Engineering Technicians |
$77,850 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$68,530 |
| Writers and Authors |
$77,250 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$68,002 |
| Graphic Designers |
$72,400 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
$63,732 |
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 Angeles at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
3,857,897 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$80,366 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
37.8% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
113.6 (above U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
Other Los Angeles-Area Cities With Film Programs
- Beverly Hills, CA – 2.5 mi away (34,687 pop)
- West Hollywood, CA – 2.7 mi away (36,698 pop)
- Burbank, CA – 7.0 mi away (104,447 pop)
- Culver City, CA – 7.5 mi away (39,364 pop)
- Santa Monica, CA – 7.6 mi away (92,478 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited film schools are near Los Angeles, CA?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering film programs near Los Angeles. The closest is University of California-Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA (3.6 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is New York Film Academy (4.8 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying film roles near Los Angeles?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying film-related roles near Los Angeles are: Producers and Directors ($131,600), Special Effects Artists and Animators ($124,590), Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film ($107,620). 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 Beverly Hills instead of Los Angeles?
Beverly Hills, CA is 2.5 miles from Los Angeles and has its own set of local film programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Los Angeles an affordable place to study film?
Los Angeles’s median household income of $80,366 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Los Angeles 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 Film Programs
Other Programs Available in Los Angeles
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Los Angeles:
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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.
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