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

# San Francisco State University

San Francisco, 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 | $68,077 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $38,781 – $100,910 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,923 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,852 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 50% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $26,488 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 77% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.19× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $40,077 | 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 $12,923 (≈ 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 $24,267 to $113,349 across 70 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $113,349 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $99,655 | $15,233 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $88,331 | $20,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $77,510 | $46,558 |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $71,988 | $25,864 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $70,291 | $23,688 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $70,258 | $35,880 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,759 | $21,250 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,046 | $17,500 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $61,876 | not reported |
| Legal Support Services. | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $61,471 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $60,297 | $40,113 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $60,260 | $30,500 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $60,016 | $24,072 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,604 | $13,750 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,942 | $16,125 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,088 | $17,353 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $54,704 | $26,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,626 | $12,971 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,942 | $20,500 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $50,495 | not reported |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,260 | $24,186 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,226 | $20,897 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,360 | $15,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,126 | $18,750 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,806 | $14,125 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $45,263 | $40,605 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,983 | $15,128 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,964 | $12,408 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,709 | $13,625 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,620 | $13,703 |
| Urban Studies/Affairs. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,994 | $18,625 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,041 | $18,250 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $39,666 | $29,503 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,250 | $15,750 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,903 | $15,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,565 | $12,500 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,822 | $16,359 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,633 | $15,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,487 | $16,200 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,384 | $15,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,329 | $14,992 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,564 | $15,000 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,459 | $16,702 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,145 | $19,000 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,024 | $14,986 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,916 | $16,750 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,641 | $17,625 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,417 | $17,303 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,794 | $14,087 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,650 | $15,250 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,537 | $15,750 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,408 | $17,500 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,390 | $16,500 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,294 | $14,387 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,835 | $16,625 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,776 | $11,000 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,087 | $16,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,036 | $15,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,501 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,355 | $16,743 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,065 | $16,500 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,994 | $16,689 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,969 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,678 | $15,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,883 | $17,250 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,781 | $17,610 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,049 | $17,940 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,940 | $17,375 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,267 | $16,461 |

## 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 San Francisco State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?122597

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