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

# San Jose State University

San Jose, 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 | $78,988 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $48,356 – $115,546 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $12,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 69% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $26,593 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 81% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.15× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $50,988 | derived |

**69% 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 $12,000 (≈ 15% 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 $26,800 to $124,052 across 52 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer Engineering. | Master's Degree | $124,052 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $97,934 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $89,196 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $81,280 | not reported |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $81,060 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $74,789 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,515 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $69,821 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $69,190 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,074 | not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $68,583 | not reported |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $66,700 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,133 | not reported |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,042 | not reported |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,999 | not reported |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,001 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $57,614 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $57,440 | not reported |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,641 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,575 | not reported |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,220 | not reported |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,130 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,841 | not reported |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,048 | not reported |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,739 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,509 | not reported |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $48,739 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $48,660 | not reported |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,596 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $45,936 | not reported |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,617 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,617 | not reported |
| Air Transportation. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,924 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,783 | not reported |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,290 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,664 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,623 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,033 | not reported |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,660 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,504 | not reported |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,653 | not reported |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,650 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,415 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,457 | not reported |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,368 | not reported |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,047 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,851 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,679 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,546 | not reported |
| Behavioral Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,421 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,231 | not reported |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,800 | 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 San Jose State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?122755

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