CDL SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA — Federal Data, September 2026
CDL Schools in California, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
4 accredited institutions in California report enough federal data on this program to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 4 ranked programs in California, the median graduate needs 2.3 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $6,650, against median earnings of $34,665 one year after completion.
That is slower than the national median of 2.0 months for this field, measured across the 87 institutions in our national CDL schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Advanced Career Institute in Visalia, at 1.9 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on California institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about CDL schools in California
The Ranking
4 CDL schools in California, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Advanced Career InstituteVisalia, CA | for-profit | Certificate | 1.9 | $6,201 | $38,651 | 81% |
| 2 | CET-San JoseSan Jose, CA | nonprofit | Certificate | 2.3 | $6,650 | $34,665 | 81% |
| 3 | CET-El CentroEl Centro, CA | nonprofit | Certificate | 2.3 | $6,650 | $34,665 | 93% |
| 4 | CET-SoledadSoledad, CA | nonprofit | Certificate | 2.3 | $6,650 | $34,665 | 81% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in California, one by one
Advanced Career Institute
Visalia, CA
Advanced Career Institute is a private for-profit institution in Visalia. Its truck driving graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,201 and report median earnings of $38,651 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.9 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 0.4 months faster than the California state median of 2.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 81% completion rate.
CET-San Jose
San Jose, CA
CET-San Jose is a private nonprofit institution in San Jose. Its truck driving graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,650 and report median earnings of $34,665 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.3 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and right on the California state median of 2.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 81% completion rate.
CET-El Centro
El Centro, CA
CET-El Centro is a private nonprofit institution in El Centro. Its truck driving graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,650 and report median earnings of $34,665 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.3 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and right on the California state median of 2.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 93% completion rate.
CET-Soledad
Soledad, CA
CET-Soledad is a private nonprofit institution in Soledad. Its truck driving graduates leave with a median federal debt of $6,650 and report median earnings of $34,665 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.3 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and right on the California state median of 2.3. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 81% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
With only 4 institutions publishable here, this page is a short list by construction. It is not a directory of every school in California: many programs, especially at institutions that do not take federal student aid, never appear in this data at all.
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other States
The same program, another state
Other Programs in California
Comparing a different trade in California
For CALIFORNIA School Operators
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