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Best Financial Planning Schools Near Ridgecrest, CA (2026)
Updated September 7, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Ridgecrest, California is home to about 28,138 residents. Median household income is $88,107 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 31.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro area, the top-earning financial planning-related role is Financial Managers at a median $153,030 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Financial Planning Schools to Ridgecrest
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer financial planning programs near Ridgecrest, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Ridgecrest 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 Ridgecrest.
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.
Ridgecrest is part of the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro area (BLS area code 12540). 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
$111,580
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
$110,585
Financial Managers
$153,030
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
$151,665
Financial and Investment Analysts
$101,230
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
$100,327
Accountants and Auditors
$79,620
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
$78,910
Financial Examiners
$77,610
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
$76,918
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents
$61,360
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
$60,813
Loan Officers
$76,500
Bakersfield-Delano, CA
$75,818
Credit Counselors
$67,120
CA statewide
$66,521
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.
Ridgecrest at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
28,138
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$88,107
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
31.7%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
100.9 (above U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Ridgecrest-Area Cities With Financial Planning Programs
What are the highest-paying financial planning roles near Ridgecrest?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying financial planning-related roles near Ridgecrest are: Financial Managers ($153,030), Personal Financial Advisors ($111,580), Financial and Investment Analysts ($101,230). 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 Barstow instead of Ridgecrest?
Barstow, CA is 63.3 miles from Ridgecrest 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 Ridgecrest an affordable place to study financial planning?
Ridgecrest’s median household income of $88,107 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Ridgecrest 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.
