College · Public · Bakersfield, CA · City
California State University-Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA
Hispanic-serving
Admit rate94%
6-yr median pay$44k
Net price / yr$6k
Undergrad size8,577
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $6k/yr for a shot at a $44k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 94% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
8,577 undergrads. Medium. Clubs matter for finding your people.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $20k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $6k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$78k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$23k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$55k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback0.5x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $8.1k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $20.7k
- Room & board
- $15.1k
- Books & supplies
- $954
How students pay for it.
Pell grants61%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans23%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$17k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $11k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention79%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr50%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$44k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$59k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out3%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 8,577
- Location
- Bakersfield, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · large · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
- Also known as
- CSU Bakersfield
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Hispanic70%
- White12%
- Asian6%
- Black4%
- Unknown4%
- Two or more races2%
- International1%
First-gen students58%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time17%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Veterans0%
Share using veteran education benefits.
Median family income$27k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 43
What you can study.