Oakland, CA (population: 412,612) has five media schools within its city limits. Mills College, the highest ranked school in the city with a media program, has a total student population of 1,501. It is the 303rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 23rd highest in the state of California (#1 is University of California-Los Angeles).
Media students from Oakland schools who go on to become interactive media designers, media designers, reporters, news reporters, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. Also, Graphic designers make on average $47,820 per year and there are about 200,870 of them employed in the US today.
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 5 media 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 media 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 |