California State
University-Los Angeles
Public College in Los Angeles, CA. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $59,211.
Students who entered California State University-Los Angeles land at a median of $59,211 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 53% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $13,000, a light load against those earnings. On economic mobility, 9.9% 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.22 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Mobility score 9.9 — top quartile among US colleges
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Admission is not the constraint here: 91% of applicants are accepted. The applicant pool is large — 32,723 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. A 9% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class.
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 University-Los Angeles →Academics
53% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 72% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 43% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The student-faculty ratio is 21:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 21,478 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $4,460 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $2,877 while those at $110k+ pay $13,578. 85% of students get grant aid averaging $12,761, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. 18% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 3,456 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 | $2,877 |
| $30–48k | $2,974 |
| $48–75k | $5,002 |
| $75–110k | $7,355 |
| $110k+ | $13,578 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,861 of these 21,478 students, totalling $27,561,470 — an average of $7,138 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.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)