Fresno, CA (population: 490,930) has twenty-two clinical research schools within a 500-mile radius of its city center. University of California-Davis, the highest ranked school in this group with a clinical research program, has a total student population of 31,247. It is the 41st highest ranked school in the USA and the 6th highest in the state of California (#1 is University of California-Los Angeles).
Clinical Research students from Fresno schools who go on to become clinical researchers, clinical laboratory researchers, institutional research directors, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 152,420 people working as medical and clinical laboratory technicians alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $37,860. Also, Medical records and health information technicians make on average $33,880 per year and there are about 170,580 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Fresno area alone, there are 330 employed medical records and health information technicians earning an average salary of $33,940. Medical and clinical laboratory technicians in this area earn $36,480/yr and there are 250 employed.
Fresno lies in Fresno county, which is one of the 57 counties in California. Overall, the Fresno area has 323,470 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $19/hr average worker wage, and a $40,460 average annual salary. Thus, about 1 out of every 1000 jobs in Fresno are held by medical and clinical laboratory technicians, and 1/1000 are held by medical records and health information technicians.
Of the 22 clinical research schools with a 500-mile radius of Fresno, only 14 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Kaplan College-Vista comes out as the most expensive ($38,865/yr) for clinical research students, with California State University-Dominguez Hills as the lowest, reported at only $2,451/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Fresno |
| Hanford | CA | 51,853 | 0 | - | 0 | 32.1 miles |
| Visalia | CA | 127,444 | 7 | 18.6498 | 161 | 40.6 miles |
| Merced | CA | 78,579 | 3 | 29.789 | 150 | 52.4 miles |
| Porterville | CA | 53,185 | 1 | 11.8615 | 42 | 65.3 miles |
| Ceres | CA | 43,443 | 0 | - | 0 | 85.9 miles |
| Sonora | CA | - | 1 | 10.5858 | 57 | 89.4 miles |
| Modesto | CA | 203,882 | 4 | 24.9737 | 137 | 89.9 miles |
| Salida | CA | - | 2 | 26.0837 | 19 | 95.8 miles |