Career Training Path › CDL / truck driving schools › California
CDL / truck driving schools in California
California has 4 accredited campuses awarding cdl credentials. If you finish and work as a tractor-trailer truck driver in California, expect to start around $41,830–$48,740 and reach a median of $60,230 with experience; the top quarter earn $72,330 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, California). Graduates of these California programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $35,172 in their first year, against $38,603 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in California
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 205,090 employed in California. National median: $58,640.
Campuses in California, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: CoalingaEl CentroSoledadVisalia
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CET-Soledad | Soledad | non-profit | 87 | $36,246 | $6,650 | 81% | $26,110 |
| CET-El Centro | El Centro | non-profit | 53 | $36,246 | $6,650 | 93% | $27,129 |
| Advanced Career Institute | Visalia | for-profit | 1,336 | $34,099 | $6,201 | 81% | not reported |
| Coalinga College | Coalinga | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 43% | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.