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Best Journalism Schools Near Santa Monica, CA (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Santa Monica, California has 5 accredited schools offering journalism programs. Santa Monica has a population of about 91,535. Median household income is $109,739 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 68.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, the top-earning journalism-related role is Editor at a median $100,050 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Journalism Schools to Santa Monica
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer journalism programs near Santa Monica, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica.
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.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California journalism page.
Journalism Wages Near Santa Monica
Santa Monica is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (BLS area code 31080). 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)
News Analyst, Reporter, and Journalist
N/A
CA statewide
–
Editor
$100,050
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
$88,072
Public Relations Specialist
$79,860
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
$70,299
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 Monica at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
91,535
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$109,739
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
68.9%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
113.6 (above U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Santa Monica-Area Cities With Journalism Programs
How many accredited journalism schools are near Santa Monica, CA?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering journalism programs near Santa Monica. The closest is Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, CA (0.8 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of Southern California (11.3 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying journalism roles near Santa Monica?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying journalism-related roles near Santa Monica are: Editor ($100,050), Public Relations Specialist ($79,860). 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 Culver City instead of Santa Monica?
Culver City, CA is 5.0 miles from Santa Monica and has its own set of local journalism programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Santa Monica an affordable place to study journalism?
Santa Monica’s median household income of $109,739 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Santa Monica 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 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-2035) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
