California Apprenticeship Programs
As of May 2026, California operates one of the larger registered-apprenticeship systems in the country: 89,000 active apprentices in 3,100 programs, with completion pay near $34.20/hour.
- Active apprentices
- 89,000
- National rank
- #1 / 51
- Completion rate
- 58.2%
- Completion wage
- $34
California ranks #1, the largest of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 10.5% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 58.2% completion rate sits 0 pts above the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 85% - from $19 to $34 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction CA · California
California registered-apprenticeship filing: 89,000 active apprentices (rank 1/51), 3,100 programs, 58.2% completion.
- BOOK-MEGA 89,000
- RANK-TOP #1
- PROG-DENSE 3,100
- COMP-MID 58.2%
- WAGE-STRONG +85%
- SHARE-LEAD 10.5%
- NEW-FY 22,000
Nearest enrollment peer: Texas (18,000 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: apprenticeships vs college
Where California sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction; California sits in the top tercile. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
California vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
89,000 1st of 51 the highest of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-05-15
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading California's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: intake
What separates California is a slow front door: new registrations equal just 24.7% of the active base, a slower pipeline than 100% of states.
A top-5 system by enrollment
89,000 active apprentices put California at rank 1 of 51; its 10.5% slice of national enrollment means this one system reaches a meaningful share of every registered apprentice in the country.
Fewer, larger programs
The state's 3,100 registered programs average 28.7 apprentices each, above the 23.6 national norm — enrollment concentrates in larger sponsors rather than spreading across many small ones.
Strong wage progression
Wages move further here than in most states: $18.50/hour at entry to $34.20 at completion, a 84.9% climb versus the 82.7% national norm.
Completion near the average
A 58.2% completion rate holds within two points of the national average (58.2%).
California's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Sheet Metal Worker 23%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- Iron Worker -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does California have?
89,000 active registered apprentices — rank 1 of 51 jurisdictions — spread over about 3,100 registered programs.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in California?
Roughly 58.2%, effectively at the national average of 58.2%.
How much do apprentices earn in California?
Starting pay averages $18.50/hour and completion pay $34.20 — a 84.9% increase, among the strongest wage progressions of any state.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in California?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for California are Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter, Iron Worker, Sheet Metal Worker — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
Why is California's apprentice pipeline slow?
The data shows the symptom, not the cause: 22,000 new registrations against 89,000 active apprentices is a 24.7% intake ratio, bottom-tercile nationally. The dataset does not record why sponsors register fewer new apprentices here.
Compare other states
What to do with this
Use California's apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree with real wage and growth numbers. Apprenticeships vs college
- Browse the full occupation directory to check wage and AI exposure for a specific trade. Browse all occupations
- See which occupations are projected to add the most jobs through 2034. Fastest-growing occupations
Apprenticeship figures come from U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship data; enrollment and completion vary by program and year.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).