Oakland, CA (population: 412,612) has two graphic design schools within its city limits. California College of the Arts, the highest ranked school in the city with a graphic design program, has a total student population of 1,828. It is the 3265th highest ranked school in the USA and the 312th highest in the state of California (#1 is University of California-Los Angeles). To learn more about graphic design programs in Oakland, ratemyprofessors.com has reviews of graphic design professors at California College of the Arts such as Zoee Astrachan, Amy Campos, Charlie Denison, Lee Friedman, Yim Lim, and Betty Lin.
Graphic Design students from Oakland schools who go on to become graphic designers, animation designers, fashion designers, web designers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 200,870 people working as graphic designers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $47,820.
Oakland lies in Alameda county, which is one of the 57 counties in California. Overall, the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward Metropolitan area has 990,570 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $26/hr average worker wage, and a $54,590 average annual salary.
Of the 2 graphic design schools in Oakland, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, California College of the Arts comes out as the most expensive ($30,933/yr) for graphic design students, with Laney College as the lowest, reported at only $7,253/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Oakland |
| Alameda | CA | 71,628 | 3 | 11.6549 | 62 | 2.2 miles |
| San Leandro | CA | 78,904 | 1 | 29.9223 | 11 | 5.6 miles |
| Berkeley | CA | 102,237 | 13 | 2.98519 | 59 | 7.4 miles |
| Castro Valley | CA | 65,952 | 0 | - | 0 | 9.7 miles |
| Hayward | CA | 145,517 | 6 | 17.5402 | 239 | 11.7 miles |
| San Francisco | CA | 817,411 | 21 | 17.5697 | 455 | 12.6 miles |
| Walnut Creek | CA | 64,055 | 0 | - | 0 | 13.3 miles |
| South San Francisco | CA | 64,345 | 0 | - | 0 | 13.3 miles |
| San Mateo | CA | 93,990 | 1 | 15.1982 | 101 | 15.3 miles |
| Union City | CA | 76,462 | 1 | 13.7752 | 0 | 16.1 miles |
| Dublin | CA | 46,208 | 3 | 13.8145 | 117 | 17.3 miles |
| Concord | CA | 122,338 | 7 | 21.1076 | 136 | 18.3 miles |
| Fremont | CA | 207,431 | 5 | 26.457 | 262 | 20.5 miles |
| Vallejo | CA | 114,029 | 1 | 31.5233 | 11 | 23.6 miles |
| Pittsburg | CA | 67,613 | 2 | 20.7913 | 157 | 25.0 miles |
| Antioch | CA | 102,439 | 2 | 25.0238 | 14 | 27.5 miles |
| Sunnyvale | CA | 135,564 | 4 | 17.5213 | 21 | 28.3 miles |
| Milpitas | CA | 69,900 | 1 | 18.2292 | 19 | 29.7 miles |
| Santa Clara | CA | 112,889 | 4 | 29.9373 | 188 | 30.9 miles |
| Fairfield | CA | 104,184 | 9 | 23.8893 | 386 | 34.6 miles |
| Napa | CA | 75,759 | 1 | 15.1485 | 56 | 36.9 miles |
| San Jose | CA | 977,893 | 9 | 20.6572 | 297 | 38.3 miles |
| Stockton | CA | 291,422 | 7 | 28.794 | 278 | 51.6 miles |
| Santa Cruz | CA | 57,690 | 2 | 37.6705 | 80 | 56.2 miles |
| Salida | CA | - | 2 | 26.0837 | 19 | 62.2 miles |
| Laguna | CA | 60,976 | 0 | - | 0 | 62.6 miles |
| West Sacramento | CA | 50,542 | 1 | 29.8049 | 4 | 65.7 miles |
| Woodland | CA | 56,758 | 0 | - | 0 | 67.5 miles |
| Modesto | CA | 203,882 | 4 | 24.9737 | 137 | 67.7 miles |
| Sacramento | CA | 475,452 | 20 | 22.3687 | 626 | 68.7 miles |