Palo Alto, California has 3 accredited schools offering software engineering programs, with tuition ranging from $8,018 to $22,945 per year for indexed programs. Palo Alto has a population of about 67,231. Median household income is $220,408 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 82.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, the top-earning software engineering-related role is Computer and Information Systems Managers at a median $291,660 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Software Engineering Schools to Palo Alto
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer software engineering programs near Palo Alto, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
78%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$78,988
Avg net price
$13,760/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 87%
- Programs offered: 118
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
94%
Graduation rate
56%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$64,876
Avg net price
$9,338/yr
TuitionIn‑state$8,018
Out‑of‑state$20,618
Key stats
- Retention rate: 81%
- Programs offered: 78
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
72%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$64,368
Avg net price
$11,983/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 83%
- Programs offered: 32
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
65%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$58,896
Avg net price
$13,630/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 75%
- Programs offered: 52
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
87%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$90,768
Avg net price
$16,665/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 95%
- Programs offered: 84
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
93%
Graduation rate
57%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,115
Avg net price
$7,021/yr
TuitionIn‑state$7,458
Out‑of‑state$20,058
Key stats
- Retention rate: 74%
- Programs offered: 103
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
91%
Graduation rate
70%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$62,951
Avg net price
$6,555/yr
TuitionIn‑state$7,470
Out‑of‑state$20,070
Key stats
- Retention rate: 84%
- Programs offered: 78
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
23%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$45,987
Avg net price
$33,744/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 60%
- Programs offered: 16
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California software engineering page.
Software Engineering Wages Near Palo Alto
Palo Alto is part of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area (BLS area code 41940). 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) |
| Software Developers |
$213,110 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$193,034 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers |
$166,530 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$150,842 |
| Computer Programmers |
$154,920 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$140,326 |
| Web Developers |
$166,670 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$150,969 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers |
$291,660 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$264,185 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other |
$184,430 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$167,056 |
| Computer Network Architects |
$186,110 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$168,578 |
| Computer Systems Analysts |
$157,140 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
$142,337 |
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.
Palo Alto at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
67,231 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$220,408 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
82.4% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
110.4 (above U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
Other Palo Alto-Area Cities With Software Engineering Programs
- Los Altos, CA – 3.2 mi away (30,561 pop)
- Mountain View, CA – 3.7 mi away (80,447 pop)
- East Palo Alto, CA – 5.2 mi away (29,684 pop)
- Menlo Park, CA – 5.4 mi away (33,888 pop)
- Sunnyvale, CA – 6.6 mi away (152,771 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited software engineering schools are near Palo Alto, CA?
Our directory has 3 accredited schools offering software engineering programs near Palo Alto. The closest is San Jose State University in San Jose, CA (15.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of California-Merced (94.5 miles). 2 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying software engineering roles near Palo Alto?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying software engineering-related roles near Palo Alto are: Computer and Information Systems Managers ($291,660), Software Developers ($213,110), Computer Network Architects ($186,110). 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 Los Altos instead of Palo Alto?
Los Altos, CA is 3.2 miles from Palo Alto and has its own set of local software engineering programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Palo Alto an affordable place to study software engineering?
Palo Alto’s median household income of $220,408 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Palo Alto 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 Software Engineering Programs
Other Programs Available in Palo Alto
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Palo Alto:
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- Behavioral Health Science programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- Hospitality Management programs in Palo Alto, CA
- International Business programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Organizational Leadership programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- Nonprofit Management programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- Real Estate programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- Risk Management programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Statistics programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Taxation programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- Crime Analysis programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Criminal Justice Administration programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Criminology programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Cybercrime programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Emergency Management programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Fire Science programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Forensic Science programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Legal Services programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Legal Studies programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Paralegal programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Security Management programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Cloud Computing programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Computer Engineering programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Innovation programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Mobile App Development programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Software Development programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- Communications programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Graphic Design programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- MBA programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Criminal Justice programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Nursing programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Business Administration programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Computer Science programs in Palo Alto, CA
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- Education programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Engineering programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Technology programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Liberal Arts programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Healthcare programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Cybersecurity programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Accounting programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Healthcare Administration programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Social Work programs in Palo Alto, CA
- Counseling programs in Palo Alto, CA
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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