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

# California State University-Bakersfield

Bakersfield, 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 | $59,009 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $34,128 – $84,724 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $11,270 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,843 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 50% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $19,522 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.19× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $31,009 | derived |

**50% 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 $11,270 (≈ 19% 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 $18,756 to $81,247 across 15 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $81,247 | not reported |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $66,597 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $63,530 | not reported |
| Engineering Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,382 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $57,342 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,472 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,538 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,507 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,455 | not reported |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,566 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,618 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,051 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,911 | not reported |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,585 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,756 | 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 State University-Bakersfield by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110486

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