California State University-Northridge
Public College in Northridge, CA. Six-year graduation rate 57%. Median 10-year earnings $59,115.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $59,115 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 57%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $13,872, a light load against those earnings. It also moves people — 6.3% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Mobility score 6.3 — top quartile among US colleges
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 93%, California State University-Northridge takes nearly everyone who applies. 33,005 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield is low at 18%, 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 University-Northridge →Academics
Completion is middling: 57% finish inside six years. 73% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Retention drops to 56% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 25:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 32,357 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $7,536 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $4,905 at the $0–30k band to $18,040 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 73% of students at an average of $11,843. Only 21% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 5,475 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 | $4,905 |
| $30–48k | $5,450 |
| $48–75k | $7,744 |
| $75–110k | $11,262 |
| $110k+ | $18,040 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,938 of these 32,357 students, totalling $46,566,589 — an average of $6,712 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)