Hospitality & Tourism Management Schools Near Santa Maria, CA

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

Santa Maria, California has 4 accredited schools offering hospitality management programs, with tuition ranging from $1,156 to $11,010 per year for indexed programs. Santa Maria has a population of about 109,880. Median household income is $84,617 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 15.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area, the top-earning hospitality management-related role is Food Service Manager at a median $78,570 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Hospitality Management Schools to Santa Maria

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer hospitality management programs near Santa Maria, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Santa Maria 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:

  • 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 Santa Maria. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA 244.2 miles from Santa Maria BOC Score 83.7
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
  • Accredited
Acceptance rate 36%
Graduation rate 77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $64,909
Avg net price $15,364/yr
Tuition
In‑state$8,728
Out‑of‑state$21,328
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 90%
  • Programs offered: 57

Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard

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

Hospitality Management Wages Near Santa Maria

Santa Maria is part of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area (BLS area code 42200). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to California statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Lodging Manager$75,430Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$69,329
Food Service Manager$78,570Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$72,215
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner$71,100Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA$65,349

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.

Santa Maria at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population109,880Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$84,617Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+15.1%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)108.8 (above U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Santa Maria-Area Cities With Hospitality Management Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited hospitality management schools are near Santa Maria, CA?

Our directory has 4 accredited schools offering hospitality management programs near Santa Maria. The closest is Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, CA (1.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Oxnard College (90.4 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying hospitality management roles near Santa Maria?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying hospitality management-related roles near Santa Maria are: Food Service Manager ($78,570), Lodging Manager ($75,430), Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner ($71,100). 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 Arroyo Grande instead of Santa Maria?

Arroyo Grande, CA is 15.4 miles from Santa Maria and has its own set of local hospitality management programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Santa Maria an affordable place to study hospitality management?

Santa Maria’s median household income of $84,617 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Santa Maria 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 Hospitality Management Programs

Other Programs Available in Santa Maria

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

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.

Back to Hospitality & Tourism Management Schools in California (2026)