BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Financial Planning Schools Near Chico, CA (2026)
Updated September 7, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Chico, California is home to about 102,032 residents. Median household income is $67,929 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 41.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Chico, CA metro area, the top-earning financial planning-related role is Financial Managers at a median $130,600 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Financial Planning Schools to Chico
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer financial planning programs near Chico, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Chico 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 Chico.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Chico is part of the Chico, CA metro area (BLS area code 17020). 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)
Personal Financial Advisors
$88,600
Chico, CA
$87,549
Financial Managers
$130,600
Chico, CA
$129,051
Financial and Investment Analysts
$91,100
Chico, CA
$90,020
Accountants and Auditors
$77,680
Chico, CA
$76,759
Financial Examiners
$106,000
CA statewide
$104,743
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
$69,820
Chico, CA
$68,992
Loan Officers
$68,170
Chico, CA
$67,362
Credit Counselors
$67,120
CA statewide
$66,324
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.
Chico at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
102,032
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$67,929
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
41.3%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
101.2 (above U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Chico-Area Cities With Financial Planning Programs
What are the highest-paying financial planning roles near Chico?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying financial planning-related roles near Chico are: Financial Managers ($130,600), Financial Examiners ($106,000), Financial and Investment Analysts ($91,100). 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 Paradise instead of Chico?
Paradise, CA is 11.1 miles from Chico and has its own set of local financial planning programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Chico an affordable place to study financial planning?
Chico’s median household income of $67,929 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Chico 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.
Data verified: September 7, 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.
