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

# California State University-San Marcos

San Marcos, 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 | $62,908 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $37,472 – $87,350 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $13,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 55% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $21,649 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 77% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.21× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $34,908 | derived |

**55% 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 $13,500 (≈ 22% 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 $19,478 to $107,746 across 38 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $107,746 | $60,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $90,827 | $24,246 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $72,843 | $36,990 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $71,769 | $20,936 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $67,078 | $70,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,252 | $20,452 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,962 | $12,500 |
| Computer Systems Analysis. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,393 | not reported |
| Biotechnology. | Master's Degree | $55,438 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $49,653 | $41,000 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,580 | $20,983 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,626 | $18,620 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,341 | $15,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,297 | $16,337 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,186 | $19,500 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,327 | $18,000 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,224 | $15,965 |
| Sociology. | Master's Degree | $39,505 | not reported |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,582 | $20,951 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,173 | $19,462 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,822 | $14,545 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,589 | $15,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,978 | $17,666 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,192 | $23,750 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,705 | $13,273 |
| Criminology. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,316 | $14,810 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,004 | $15,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,198 | $17,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,138 | $15,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,075 | $17,750 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,598 | $9,000 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,153 | not reported |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,490 | $17,362 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,084 | $16,250 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,641 | $15,500 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,472 | $18,625 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,647 | $16,226 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,478 | $16,847 |

## 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-San Marcos by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?366711

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