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Public College

California State
Polytechnic University-Pomona

Public College in Pomona, CA. Six-year graduation rate 68%. Median 10-year earnings $71,902.

Verdict High-return
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$71,902
Median debt at grad
$16,000
Mobility score
6.8
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
68.4%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten-year median earnings of $71,902 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 68% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $16,000 in debt — in line with the national norm. On economic mobility, 6.8% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.22 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • Mobility score 6.8 — top quartile among US colleges
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
75%
Applicants
49,944
Yield rate
12.5%

75% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool is large — 49,944 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is low at 13%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.

Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)

These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.

Test 25th–75th percentile Submitted
SAT Evidence-Based Reading
SAT Math
ACT Composite

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona →

Academics

Full-time retention
87%
Transfer-out rate
2%
Student:faculty
25:1

68% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 87% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 64% return, against 87% full-time. The 25:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$11,940
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
70%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
25%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 24,271 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $11,940 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $7,851 while those at $110k+ pay $20,716. About 70% get grants averaging $11,191, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 25% of students.

Entering first-year students

A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.

% receiving grants
74%
Average grant
$11,833

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 4,209 students

Net price by family income

The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.

Family income band Average net price
$0–30k $7,851
$30–48k $8,433
$48–75k $10,734
$75–110k $13,894
$110k+ $20,716

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 6,011 of these 24,271 students, totalling $38,925,665 — an average of $6,476 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,863/mo
1 bedroom
$2,085/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$2,601/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
677
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare California State Polytechnic University-Pomona with peer institutions

How we evaluate California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →