---
title: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: San Luis Obispo, CA
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $90,768 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $58,977 – $132,118 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,396 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,166 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 86% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $32,265 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 86% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.17× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $62,768 | derived |

**86% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $15,396 (≈ 17% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $20,936 to $104,015 across 66 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $104,015 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $101,786 | $20,500 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $91,493 | $20,556 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $91,351 | $19,500 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $88,197 | not reported |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $83,616 | $18,500 |
| Animal Sciences. | Master's Degree | $83,341 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $79,454 | $23,475 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $77,501 | $15,564 |
| Engineering, General. | Master's Degree | $74,873 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $74,806 | $20,500 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $74,220 | $22,500 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $73,268 | not reported |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,746 | $20,500 |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,643 | $19,691 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,381 | $20,424 |
| Taxation. | Master's Degree | $71,856 | not reported |
| Architectural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,509 | $25,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $69,350 | $20,500 |
| Manufacturing Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,936 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $68,923 | not reported |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,924 | $15,374 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $66,920 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,640 | $16,633 |
| Materials Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,746 | $17,000 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,486 | $20,500 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,544 | not reported |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,714 | $27,500 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,329 | $16,000 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,484 | $19,334 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $52,956 | not reported |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,700 | $15,400 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,116 | $17,500 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,514 | $15,000 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $50,485 | not reported |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,673 | $17,939 |
| Graphic Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,435 | $17,961 |
| Agriculture, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,178 | $21,903 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,729 | $16,636 |
| Food Science and Technology. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,002 | $19,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $44,301 | not reported |
| Landscape Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,172 | $22,583 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,455 | $14,857 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,869 | $19,500 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,856 | $16,500 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,393 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,354 | $17,886 |
| Agricultural Public Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,797 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,741 | $17,500 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,312 | $17,500 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,496 | $15,000 |
| Forestry. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,417 | $17,333 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,520 | $18,340 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,431 | $17,166 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,589 | $23,000 |
| Social Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,667 | $16,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,649 | $17,831 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,386 | $23,500 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,009 | $19,500 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,350 | $20,500 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,120 | $23,886 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,831 | $15,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,831 | $18,916 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,907 | $15,833 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,879 | not reported |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,936 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110422

---

Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/california-polytechnic-state-university-san-luis-obispo-ca.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`