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La Mesa, California has 14 accredited schools offering forensic science programs, with tuition ranging from $1,146 to $41,228 per year for indexed programs. La Mesa has a population of about 60,835. Median household income is $84,337 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 38.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, the top-earning forensic science-related role is Detective and Criminal Investigator at a median $124,840 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer forensic science programs near La Mesa, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from La Mesa 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 La Mesa. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California forensic science page.
La Mesa is part of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area (BLS area code 41740). 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forensic Science Technician | $105,320 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $94,120 |
| Detective and Criminal Investigator | $124,840 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $111,564 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer | $110,400 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $98,660 |
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 | 60,835 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $84,337 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 38.4% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) | 111.9 (above U.S. average) | BEA RPP 2024 |
Our directory has 14 accredited schools offering forensic science programs near La Mesa. The closest is Grossmont College in El Cajon, CA (3.2 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Riverside City College (85.6 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying forensic science-related roles near La Mesa are: Detective and Criminal Investigator ($124,840), Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer ($110,400), Forensic Science Technician ($105,320). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with California statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Lemon Grove, CA is 2.7 miles from La Mesa and has its own set of local forensic science programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
La Mesa’s median household income of $84,337 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in La Mesa 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 La Mesa:
Data verified: August 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.
