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

# California State University-Chico

Chico, 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 | $64,172 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $41,693 – $95,212 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 63% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $26,283 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 77% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.23× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $36,172 | derived |

**63% 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 (≈ 23% 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 $16,767 to $94,107 across 53 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $94,107 | $16,500 |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $78,190 | $19,341 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,808 | $20,000 |
| Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,244 | $18,822 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,880 | $22,353 |
| Engineering, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,803 | $22,500 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,761 | $21,125 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $67,298 | $30,000 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,715 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,879 | $18,972 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $62,371 | $18,750 |
| Engineering-Related Fields. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,812 | $17,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,749 | $16,875 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $53,836 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $52,762 | $18,968 |
| Psychology, General. | Master's Degree | $48,077 | $34,125 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,845 | $11,250 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,056 | $16,750 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,556 | $13,826 |
| Public Administration. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,518 | not reported |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,408 | $23,500 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,827 | $18,618 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,266 | $17,272 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,164 | not reported |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,061 | $19,331 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,222 | $20,000 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,427 | $17,886 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,845 | $15,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,383 | $16,125 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,049 | $15,829 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,134 | $20,500 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,122 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,487 | $14,000 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,307 | $17,606 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,173 | $15,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,939 | $17,600 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,598 | $22,000 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,302 | $16,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,283 | $17,200 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,282 | $18,750 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,924 | $14,990 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,765 | $17,375 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,584 | $13,987 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,025 | $15,000 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,951 | $16,722 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,682 | $15,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,129 | $20,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,888 | $16,148 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,288 | $18,263 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,425 | $18,227 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,120 | $15,688 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,089 | $23,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $16,767 | $16,838 |

## 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-Chico by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110538

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