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

# California State University-Los Angeles

Los Angeles, 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 | $59,211 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $36,906 – $83,961 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $11,966 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,100 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 53% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $18,403 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.20× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $31,211 | derived |

**53% 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 $11,966 (≈ 20% 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 $18,194 to $112,257 across 51 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $112,257 | $20,500 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $91,250 | $24,750 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $90,684 | $12,500 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $81,004 | $20,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $75,475 | $34,322 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $70,852 | not reported |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $66,775 | $32,050 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,165 | $14,500 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,370 | $16,500 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $60,412 | $40,301 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $58,608 | $29,525 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $57,695 | $29,334 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,166 | $12,500 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $56,006 | $29,958 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,088 | $14,429 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Master's Degree | $54,405 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Master's Degree | $52,297 | not reported |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,672 | $15,967 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $44,360 | $30,250 |
| Fire Protection. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,069 | $12,500 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,779 | $13,200 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,833 | $13,000 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,378 | $16,156 |
| Sociology. | Master's Degree | $35,351 | not reported |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,264 | $9,895 |
| Air Transportation. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,226 | $14,914 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,960 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,849 | $11,000 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,629 | $11,000 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,623 | $12,457 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,136 | $11,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,973 | $11,000 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,472 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,028 | $11,900 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,314 | $14,199 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,809 | $12,500 |
| History. | Master's Degree | $29,473 | $30,734 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,439 | $12,460 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,102 | $12,177 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,819 | $12,500 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,800 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,493 | $14,777 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,864 | $14,500 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,820 | $12,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,900 | $14,971 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,361 | $16,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,029 | $14,108 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,044 | $10,571 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,453 | $18,500 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,426 | $22,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,194 | $12,290 |

## 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-Los Angeles by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110592

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