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

# California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt

Arcata, 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 | $47,626 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $27,312 – $69,390 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $11,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 49% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $25,170 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 62% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.30× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $19,626 | derived |

**49% 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 $14,500 (≈ 30% 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 $20,121 to $52,405 across 34 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $52,405 | $29,654 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,856 | $25,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $49,362 | $24,185 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $44,118 | not reported |
| Forestry. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,805 | $21,000 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,497 | $17,625 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,348 | $24,000 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,973 | not reported |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,918 | $19,940 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,215 | $15,448 |
| Criminology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,569 | $16,475 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,024 | $15,000 |
| Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,135 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,892 | $18,250 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,601 | $15,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,491 | $19,875 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,405 | $15,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,356 | $18,300 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,299 | $15,750 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,243 | not reported |
| Botany/Plant Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,191 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,046 | $15,993 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,369 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,108 | $15,000 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,995 | $21,889 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,650 | $20,095 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,867 | $14,755 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,810 | $20,000 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,538 | $17,986 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,237 | $15,901 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,604 | $19,750 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,882 | $15,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,861 | $18,199 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,121 | $16,833 |

## 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 State Polytechnic University-Humboldt by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?115755

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