RetrainMap / Training costs by state / California / EMT / paramedic
Free · the federal list, by published cost · California
EMT and paramedic programs in California on the federal training list, by published cost
45 programs in California’s Training Provider Results index carry one of the occupation codes for EMT / paramedic (29-2042, 29-2043). Published costs run from $175 to $17,025; 0 programs report no cost and sit at the end. Sorted by the cost each provider reported — “cheapest” here means the lowest published figure on the federal list on the snapshot date, not a verdict on quality, and never a price you are promised. Snapshot taken 2026-09-02.
| # | Published cost basis | Program (provider’s page) · credential · code | Provider · city | Length | Exited | Completed | Employed Q2 after exit | Median earnings, Q2 (one quarter) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $175 | American Red Cross CPR First Aid | Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Training Academy | 1 wk · 4 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | $322 | Emergency Medical Technician | YUBA COLLEGE | 8 wk · 20 hrs | 65 | 86% | 100% | — |
| 3 | $355 | Emergency Medical Technician | MT. SAN JACINTO COMMUNITY COLLEGE | 17 wk · 11 hrs | 136 | 53% | 100% | $20,009 |
| 4 | $446 | Emergency Medical Technician Certificate of Accomplishment | City College of San Francisco | 18 wk · 9 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | $446 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) | Moreno Valley College CTE | 16 wk · 16 hrs | 111 | 35% | 91% | $5,502 |
| 6 | $647 | Emergency Medical Technician | Mt. San Antonio College | 27 wk · 8 hrs | 722 | 69% | 45% | $9,199 |
| 7 | $770 | Emergency Medical Technician CC | Kern Community College District | 5 wk · 7 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | $832 | EMT Program | College of the Redwoods | 16 wk · 36 hrs | 60 | 68% | 58% | $11,078 |
| 9 | $904 | Emergency Medical Responder (credit/noncredit) | COLLEGE OF THE DESERT | 16 wk · 4 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | $934 | Skills Certificate, Emergency Medical Technician Training Course | College of Marin | 17 wk · 7 hrs | 91 | 67% | — | — |
| 11 | $991 | Emergency Medical Technician (Basic) | Lassen Community College | 17 wk · 9 hrs | 68 | 76% | 71% | $9,942 |
| 12 | $1,000 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) | College of the Sequoias | 18 wk · 10 hrs | 234 | 100% | — | — |
| 13 | $1,030 | Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Certificate of Achievement | COLLEGE OF THE DESERT | 32 wk · 16 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | $1,082 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-Basic) Certificate | Santa Rosa Junior College | 17 wk · 15 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | $1,175 | Emergency Medical Technician | North Valley Occupational Center - LAUSD | 18 wk · 9 hrs | 206 | 60% | 43% | $9,438 |
| 16 | $1,185 | 003181 Emergency Medical Technician | Simi Institute for Careers and Education | 20 wk · 15 hrs | 264 | 65% | 35% | $11,375 |
| 17 | $1,186 | Emergency Medical Technician I | Fresno City College | 18 wk · 14 hrs | 7 | 71% | 71% | $7,197 |
| 18 | $1,214 | Public Safety Certificate of Achievement | COLLEGE OF THE DESERT | 16 wk · 16 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | $1,285 | Emergency Medical Technician | Oroville Adult Education-Career and Technical Center | 12 wk · 15 hrs | 55 | 96% | 62% | $8,100 |
| 20 | $1,433 | Emergency Medical Technician(Credit/Non Credit) | COLLEGE OF THE DESERT | 16 wk · 9 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | $1,502 | Emergency Medical Technician | Crafton Hills College | 18 wk · 8 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | $1,699 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) | Lemoore College | 18 wk · 8 hrs | 67 | 93% | 100% | — |
| 23 | $1,703 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) | Downey Adult School | 24 wk · 8 hrs | 249 | 88% | 46% | $11,076 |
| 24 | $1,794 | Certificate of Achievement EMED: Paramedic Studies | Contra Costa College | 64 wk · 10 hrs | 13 | — | — | — |
| 25 | $1,920 | Emergency Medical Technician Program | Sacramento State-College of Continuing Education | 9 wk · 16 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | $2,181 | PARAMEDIC (M)MAS585/MAS585B/MAS585C/MCE585 | Moreno Valley College CTE | 58 wk · 29 hrs | 71 | 72% | 96% | $19,555 |
| 27 | $2,233 | Emergency Medical Technician | Mt. Diablo Adult Education | 19 wk · 12 hrs | 149 | 80% | 63% | $5,650 |
| 28 | $2,253 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Training Program | California State University, Dominguez Hills | 19 wk · 9 hrs | 89 | 99% | 100% | $8,048 |
| 29 | $2,375 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-1) BC | Kern Community College District | 16 wk · 23 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | $2,671 | Certificate of Achievement EMED: Emergency Medical Services | Contra Costa College | 32 wk · 12 hrs | 40 | 45% | 81% | $8,991 |
| 31 | $2,800 | Emergency Medical Technician | Valley ROP | 6 wk · 28 hrs | 80 | 76% | 65% | $9,417 |
| 32 | $2,802 | Paramedic Certificate of Achievement | City College of San Francisco | 72 wk · 15 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | $3,200 | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) - B Initial Certification Training. BPPE Approved | Project Heartbeat | 5 wk · 32 hrs | 1,043 | 100% | 80% | — |
| 34 | $3,828 | EMT-P Paramedic: Certificate of Achievement | Napa Valley College | 34 wk · 20 hrs | 242 | 100% | — | — |
| 35 | $3,866 | Basic Fire Fighter Academy | COLLEGE OF THE DESERT | 32 wk · 20 hrs | 1,837 | 88% | 4% | $20,764 |
| 36 | $3,894 | EMT-Paramedic | Lemoore College | 18 wk · 22 hrs | 148 | 14% | — | — |
| 37 | $3,905 | Fire Academy | College of the Sequoias | 19 wk · 21 hrs | 103 | 99% | — | — |
| 38 | $4,196 | Paramedic C.A. | Cuesta College | 72 wk · 17 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | $4,679 | Paramedic Program (Certificate) | Butte College | 34 wk · 20 hrs | 48 | 60% | 16% | $8,500 |
| 40 | $4,791 | Paramedic Program | Crafton Hills College | 48 wk · 25 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 41 | $6,054 | Paramedic Program | College of the Sequoias | 54 wk · 24 hrs | 5 | 100% | — | — |
| 42 | $6,070 | Emergency Medical Services-Paramedic (Certificate) | College of the Siskiyous | 58 wk · 38 hrs | 121 | 60% | 68% | $8,574 |
| 43 | $6,100 | Paramedic-BC | Kern Community College District | 64 wk · 20 hrs | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | $15,365 | Paramedic Program | American Medical Response West | 60 wk · 18 hrs | 1,579 | 87% | 84% | — |
| 45 | $17,025 | American Medical Response Paramedic Apprenticeship program | American Medical Response West | 60 wk · 16 hrs | — | — | — | — |
Source and date: U.S. Department of Labor, Training Provider Results — the open program index behind trainingproviderresults.gov, snapshot taken 2026-09-02 (3,266 programs for California in the index that day); the site states the data cover programs approved as of June 30, 2025 and outcomes for July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2025. Cost is Out-of-Pocket Cost for a Non-WIOA Participant: Tuition and Requested Fees (DE111) where the provider reported it, otherwise Average number of dollars the training program received from each WIOA participant Individual Training Account (ITA) during the time period (DE138/DE135) — the basis is printed under each figure; books and supplies are added only when reported separately. “Completed” = Percent of All Students who completed the program (DE122/DE121); “Employed Q2” = Percent of All Students Exiters who were employed in the 2nd Quarter after Exit (DE123/DE129); “Median earnings” = Median Earnings in the 2nd Quarter after Exit of All Students that are Employed in the 2nd Quarter after Exit (DE125) — one calendar quarter, not a year. A dash means the federal file prints −1: Values displayed as "-1" indicate data that have been suppressed to protect confidentiality. Your local job center decides eligibility — this shows what is on the list and what it cost and produced, not whether you will be approved.
The list is free. The ranking by what each program produced is $39.
This page sorts EMT and paramedic programs in California by the cost their providers published. The Retraining ROI report takes one target occupation and one state, ranks every listed program by the employment its completers reported, and — if you give your current pay — prints a payback estimate per program with its basis. Built on order from the same federal record; free sample on that page.
The $39 ROI report Free funding finder The $19 Directions plan
Other program types in California: CDL truck driving · Nursing assistant (CNA) · Medical assistant · LPN / LVN · Registered nurse (RN) · Phlebotomy · Dental assistant · Pharmacy technician · Medical billing and coding · Surgical technologist · Radiologic technologist · Veterinary technician · HVAC · Welding · Electrician · Plumbing · Automotive technician · IT support · Cosmetology.