Best Instructional Design Schools Near Oakland, CA (2026)

Updated September 5, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Oakland, California has 5 accredited schools offering instructional design programs, with tuition ranging from $7,583 to $22,850 per year for indexed programs. Oakland has a population of about 438,072. Median household income is $97,369 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 47.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, the top-earning instructional design-related role is Training and Development Managers at a median $173,530 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Instructional Design Schools to Oakland

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer instructional design programs near Oakland, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Oakland 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 Oakland. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Merritt College

Oakland, CA 2.7 miles from Oakland
  • 2 year
36.6 BOC Score
Graduation rate 21%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $44,392
Avg net price $14,021/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 38

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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

Instructional Design Wages Near Oakland

Oakland is part of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area (BLS area code 41860). 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)
Instructional Coordinators $103,400 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $89,446
Training and Development Specialists $95,050 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $82,223
Training and Development Managers $173,530 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $150,112
Education Teachers, Postsecondary $92,720 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $80,208
Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other $75,420 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $65,242
Education Administrators, Postsecondary $136,030 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $117,673
Farm and Home Management Educators $98,770 CA statewide $85,441
Graphic Designers $92,050 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $79,628

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.

Oakland at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Population 438,072 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income $97,369 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ 47.9% Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 115.6 (above U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Oakland-Area Cities With Instructional Design Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited instructional design schools are near Oakland, CA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering instructional design programs near Oakland. The closest is Merritt College in Oakland, CA (2.7 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is San Francisco State University (15.0 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying instructional design roles near Oakland?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying instructional design-related roles near Oakland are: Training and Development Managers ($173,530), Education Administrators, Postsecondary ($136,030), Instructional Coordinators ($103,400). 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 Alameda instead of Oakland?

Alameda, CA is 3.2 miles from Oakland and has its own set of local instructional design programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Oakland an affordable place to study instructional design?

Oakland’s median household income of $97,369 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Oakland 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 Instructional Design Programs

Other Programs Available in Oakland

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

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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