Engineering Gap Index All states →

California

43,897
engineers a year
at China’s rate
See the numbers ↓

Source: IPEDS Completions, 3-yr avg AY 2022–25 (NCES; 2024–25 provisional), bachelor’s degrees, CIP 14 + 11; China 33.2%: PRC Ministry of Education, 2022 bachelor’s graduates by discipline (NSF NCSES S&E Indicators Fig. HED-30: 32.8%, 2020); Population: Census NST-EST2025.

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California at China’s rate would graduate 69,881 engineers a year. It graduates 25,984.

California produces 25,984 engineering and computer science bachelor's degrees a year out of 210,485 total, a mid-pack engineering producer, from 83 institutions. At China's rate it would produce 69,881. Output is growing (+10.6% over three years). Gap Score: 37% of the China benchmark. Its own economy is projected to open 68,690 engineering, computing and technician jobs a year through 2034; in-state degrees, associate and bachelor's together, cover 46% of them.

Engineering + CS share of bachelor’s degrees
12.3%
Above the national 12.3%; 37% of the way to China’s 33.2%.
Missing engineers a year at China’s rate
43,897
26,637 at a conservative 25%, and 16,113 at 20%.
Three-year trend, share of degrees
11.812.212.9
Output up 10.6% in degrees, 2022-23 to 2024-25.
National rank by share
#18
of 51 by share; #19 per capita, 112 missing engineers per 100k residents (pop. 39.4M).
What they study
47% eng
53% computer science. 18% of the state’s eng+CS output is at the associate level, the two-year pathway.
Job openings a year, engineers + computing + technicians
68,690
46% covered by the state’s own degrees, all levels; #35 of 51 on coverage.

The gap against China’s benchmark

California, today12.3%
United States, today12.3%
China benchmark33.2%
43,897 missing engineering and CS bachelor’s degrees a year at China’s 33.2% rate.

Three-year trend: eng+CS share of degrees

11.8%12.2%12.9%
2022–232023–242024–25

California is missing 43,897 engineers a year at China's rate, roughly 16x the annual output of University of California-Berkeley.

Where California’s engineers are made.

83 institutions produce engineering or computer science bachelor’s degrees in California. The top 8 account for 47% of output.

Every producing institution. Circle area = eng+CS bachelor’s degrees per year

University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley: 2,797 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 29.2% of its degreesUniversity of California-San Diego, La Jolla: 1,713 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 18.9% of its degreesUniversity of California-Irvine, Irvine: 1,697 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 20.3% of its degreesCalifornia Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo: 1,367 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 27.2% of its degreesCalifornia State Polytechnic University-Pomona, Pomona: 1,354 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 22.9% of its degreesUniversity of California-Davis, Davis: 1,167 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 13.7% of its degreesUniversity of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles: 1,089 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 11.4% of its degreesSan Jose State University, San Jose: 1,082 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 16.6% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Long Beach, Long Beach: 1,072 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 12.3% of its degreesUniversity of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz: 971 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 20.9% of its degreesSan Diego State University, San Diego: 939 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 10.7% of its degreesUniversity of Southern California, Los Angeles: 855 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 15.3% of its degreesUniversity of California-Riverside, Riverside: 785 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 14.1% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Fullerton, Fullerton: 768 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 8.4% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Sacramento, Sacramento: 757 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 10.2% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Northridge, Northridge: 746 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 9.0% of its degreesStanford University, Stanford: 652 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 35.5% of its degreesSan Francisco State University, San Francisco: 508 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 10.1% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Los Angeles, Los Angeles: 497 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 9.3% of its degreesUniversity of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara: 442 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 6.8% of its degreesUniversity of California-Merced, Merced: 404 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 23.7% of its degreesCalifornia State University-San Bernardino, San Bernardino: 341 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 8.1% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Chico, Chico: 313 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 9.3% of its degreesSanta Clara University, Santa Clara: 288 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 19.5% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Fresno, Fresno: 236 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.7% of its degreesCalifornia State University-East Bay, Hayward: 233 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 7.5% of its degreesCalifornia State University-San Marcos, San Marcos: 223 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 6.6% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Monterey Bay, Seaside: 207 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 11.3% of its degreesUniversity of San Diego, San Diego: 170 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 12.5% of its degreesCalifornia Baptist University, Riverside: 163 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 8.8% of its degreesCalifornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena: 161 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 67.3% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Dominguez Hills, Carson: 157 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.8% of its degreesUniversity of the Pacific, Stockton: 126 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 15.4% of its degreesLoyola Marymount University, Los Angeles: 115 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 6.7% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Bakersfield, Bakersfield: 114 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.2% of its degreesHarvey Mudd College, Claremont: 108 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 50.1% of its degreesChapman University, Orange: 103 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.5% of its degreesUniversity of San Francisco, San Francisco: 96 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 7.0% of its degreesAcademy of Art University, San Francisco: 93 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 18.5% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Channel Islands, Camarillo: 84 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.1% of its degreesNational University, San Diego: 81 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.8% of its degreesSonoma State University, Rohnert Park: 72 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.3% of its degreesCalifornia State Polytechnic University-Humboldt, Arcata: 69 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.2% of its degreesCalifornia State University-Stanislaus, Turlock: 67 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 2.8% of its degreesDeVry University-California, Ontario: 65 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 21.8% of its degreesPomona College, Claremont: 64 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 14.0% of its degreesPoint Loma Nazarene University, San Diego: 45 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.5% of its degreesCalifornia Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks: 35 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.1% of its degreesUniversity of La Verne, La Verne: 35 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.2% of its degreesSouthern California Institute of Technology, Anaheim: 35 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 100.0% of its degreesBiola University, La Mirada: 33 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.2% of its degreesWestcliff University, Irvine: 31 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 12.5% of its degreesCal Poly Maritime Academy, Vallejo: 29 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 16.4% of its degreesCalifornia College of the Arts, San Francisco: 28 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 10.7% of its degreesDominican University of California, San Rafael: 27 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 8.6% of its degreesOccidental College, Los Angeles: 27 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.9% of its degreesWestmont College, Santa Barbara: 25 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 7.3% of its degreesMinerva University, San Francisco: 25 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 17.9% of its degreesUniversity of Silicon Valley, San Jose: 24 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 29.1% of its degreesArt Center College of Design, Pasadena: 23 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.6% of its degreesAzusa Pacific University, Azusa: 19 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 1.6% of its degreesClaremont McKenna College, Claremont: 17 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 4.8% of its degreesUniversity of Redlands, Redlands: 15 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 2.4% of its degreesConcordia University-Irvine, Irvine: 14 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 3.2% of its degreesWoodbury University, Burbank: 13 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 7.3% of its degreesLaurus College, San Luis Obispo: 12 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 31.2% of its degreesThe Master's University and Seminary, Santa Clarita: 10 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 3.3% of its degreesCalifornia Institute of the Arts, Valencia: 9 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 3.9% of its degreesSaint Mary's College of California, Moraga: 7 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 1.3% of its degreesWilliam Jessup University, Rocklin: 6 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 2.6% of its degreesLa Sierra University, Riverside: 5 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 2.3% of its degreesScripps College, Claremont: 4 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 1.4% of its degreesSan Francisco Bay University, Fremont: 3 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 71.4% of its degreesWhittier College, Whittier: 3 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 1.3% of its degreesPlatt College-Los Angeles, Alhambra: 3 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 14.5% of its degreesBethesda University, Anaheim: 2 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 6.9% of its degreesPitzer College, Claremont: 2 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 0.7% of its degreesFresno Pacific University, Fresno: 2 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 0.3% of its degreesPlatt College-Anaheim, Anaheim: 2 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 5.6% of its degreesSimpson University, Redding: 1 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 0.5% of its degreesGolden Gate University, San Francisco: 0 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 0.2% of its degreesNortheastern University Oakland, Oakland: 0 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 1.5% of its degreesVanguard University of Southern California, Costa Mesa: 0 eng+CS bachelor's/yr, 0.1% of its degrees12345678
University of California-Berkeley alone is 11% of the state's output.Swipe the map →

Top producers

#InstitutionEng+CS / yr% of its degrees
1University of California-Berkeley2,79729.2%
2University of California-San Diego1,71318.9%
3University of California-Irvine1,69720.3%
4California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo1,36727.2%
5California State Polytechnic University-Pomona1,35422.9%
6University of California-Davis1,16713.7%
7University of California-Los Angeles1,08911.4%
8San Jose State University1,08216.6%
Top 8 shown = 47% of state output. 75 more institutions produce the remaining 53%, all shown on the map. Bachelor's degrees, matching the state totals above. IPEDS Completions C2023–C2025, first majors; 3-yr average.

Jobs vs. degrees

California's own labor-market projection, 2024–2034, for engineers, computer occupations and engineering technicians, against the degrees the state produces at every level.

Openings against output

Job openings per year (growth + replacement)68,690
Eng + CS degrees produced per year (associate + bachelor’s)31,790
of which net new jobs per year (growth only)10,400

Where the openings are

OccupationOpenings / yr
Software Developers20,730
Computer Occupations, All Other5,930
Computer User Support Specialists4,460
Computer Systems Analysts4,150
Civil Engineers3,830
Industrial Engineers2,400

Coverage: degrees ÷ openings

46%
of California's projected openings are covered by its own degrees. Rank #35 of 51; U.S.: 54%. Demand: 175 openings per 100k residents (U.S.: 143).
California's colleges cover 46% of the engineering, computing and technician jobs its economy opens every year. The other 36,900 a year, 13x the annual output of University of California-Berkeley, must be imported, retrained, or left unfilled.

Openings are the state labor agency’s own 10-year projection: new jobs plus replacing workers who retire or leave the field (BLS method). Not every opening goes to a new graduate, so this is a coverage measure; it does not count vacant positions. Occupations: engineers (SOC 17-2), computer occupations (SOC 15-12) and engineering technicians (SOC 17-3, the associate-degree tier), the jobs CIP 14 + 11 degrees feed; degrees here include associate degrees to match. Source: California labor-market projections via Projections Central (U.S. Dept. of Labor).

California's universities are capping engineering seats as demand grows

The state is courting a 40,000-job manufacturing park, gigawatts of AI data centers and tax-credit deals paying $132K salaries, while UC Berkeley's own CS chair says budget limits are what cap the number of seats.

Solano Foundry, Solano County
40,000 jobs
California Forever's proposed 2,100-acre advanced-manufacturing park an hour from Silicon Valley targets robotics, semiconductors and defense hardware plus 150,000-plus homes. Backers say 40,000 jobs, but the project now depends on a multiyear Suisun City annexation, and in July 2026 its prospective shipyard tenant, Saronic, chose Texas instead.
Manufacturing Dive
CalCompetes awards, Statewide
4,489 jobs
In May 2026 GO-Biz awarded California Competes tax credits to 17 companies promising 4,489 jobs at a weighted average salary of $132,218 and $1B in private investment: Mach Industries (1,057 defense-tech jobs, Huntington Beach/LA/SF), Heron Power (601 grid-electronics jobs, Morgan Hill), Samsung Semiconductor (400 R&D jobs, San Jose).
Office of the Governor
AI data centers, San Jose
18.7 GW
Data-center developers have asked PG&E for 18.7 gigawatts of service capacity in San Jose planning documents, enough to nearly triple the city's peak electricity use; the state forecasts 4-6 GW actually built by 2040. After 2025 bills died, Gov. Newsom in September 2026 signed a seven-bill package requiring data centers to cover their own grid costs, disclose water and power use, and go through standard environmental review.
CalMatters

The drain.

California imports its engineers: two-thirds of Silicon Valley tech workers were born abroad, while the state's own college-bound high schoolers leave in record numbers and community-college STEM transfer stays narrow.

SV tech workers foreign-born
~2/3
Joint Venture Silicon Valley study reported by KTVU, 2025
Share of US H-1B approvals from SV
~17%
Joint Venture Silicon Valley, FY2025 (Oct 2025)
HS grads leaving CA for college
15%
PPIC, 2022 cohort, up from 8.5% in 2002 (Nov 2025)

Sources: KTVU / Joint Venture Silicon Valley; Joint Venture Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies; PPIC

Who’s covering it.

Reporters already cover this, but no one has combined it into a single number the way the Index does.

OutletStoryWhat it covers
The Daily Californian
UC Berkeley CS major enrollment on pace to drop by 59% as part of nationwide trend
Apr 2026. Berkeley CS graduates fall from 1,029 (2024-25) to a projected ~350 in 2026-27; chair Jelani Nelson blames instruction costs and budget limits.
California Magazine
Major Issue
Jun 2026. Applications to Berkeley CS programs rose ~25% since 2020 and the admit rate is 6%, yet seats shrank; Nelson calls it 'a supply-side constraint, not a demand constraint.'
CalMatters
UC has been enrolling more in-state students. Proposed state cuts may halt that growth
Apr 2025. An 8% (~$400M) proposed UC cut led the provost to warn enrollment would shrink for fall 2026 after five years of adding 16,000 Californians.
The Tribune (via GovTech)
CS Majors Decline at UC for First Time Since Early 2000s
Feb 2026. UC CS majors fell 6% to 12,652 in 2025 amid AI fears and layoffs, even as UCLA says CS remains the most-applied-to engineering major.
EdSource
Millions attend California Community Colleges. Far fewer make it to a four-year university
Jun 2026. Only 18% of community college starters transfer within four years, and UC/CSU transfers fell 6.9% (5,057 students) from 2021 to 2025, the pipeline Digital ROTC would fund.
Joint Venture Silicon Valley
Acute local impacts: Silicon Valley's concentrated exposure to H-1B policy
Oct 2025. Silicon Valley firms took ~17% of all approved H-1B petitions in FY2025; the $100K fee could cost the region ~1,060 jobs, a sign of how few engineers the region trains locally.

The fix, in California.

1

Fund more UC and CSU engineering seats

Berkeley is cutting CS graduates by more than half because TA costs and budget limits set the cap while student demand keeps rising. A Digital ROTC service-for-tuition cohort would bring dedicated state and federal dollars to reopen those seats at UC and CSU, with the enrollment growth targets the Legislature already writes into the budget as the yardstick.

2

Tie CalCompetes to the pipeline

GO-Biz just handed 17 firms credits for 4,489 jobs at $132K salaries. Condition the next round on employers co-sponsoring Digital ROTC scholars at nearby community colleges and CSUs, so Solano Foundry and San Jose's data-center projects hire Californians instead of importing every engineer.

3

Open the STEM transfer lane

Only 18% of community college students transfer in four years and STEM transfer is narrower still. Digital ROTC stipends at the 116 community colleges, paired with guaranteed transfer seats in CS and engineering, would address a 6.9% transfer decline through the least expensive engineering seats the state can fund.

What Digital ROTC would fund

Digital ROTC: federal student loans that cover two years of engineering, computer science, or cybersecurity school at a community college, whether those years end in an associate degree or transfer into a bachelor’s program. The loans are forgiven in full after 24 to 36 months of service in government technology roles. In California, 18% of engineering-track credentials are associate degrees today. Digital ROTC is built to expand that community-college route.

All 50 states and DCRead the methodology