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College Ledger

Statement · Pasadena, CA

California Institute of Technology

Private nonprofit4-year · Bachelor's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid −$2,133 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $86,886.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $128,566 ten years after entering, above the 99th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years.

  3. 94% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Founded
1891
Enrollment, 2023
2,518
Website
caltech.edu
Motto
“The truth shall make you free”
Campus of California Institute of Technology

Canon.vs.nikon · CC BY-SA 3.0

AboutPrivate university in Pasadena, California. Wikipedia ↗

Read the Wikipedia extract

The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes of technology in the United States that are devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences.

From the Wikipedia article “California Institute of Technology”, revision 1364261434, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $86,886 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between −$2,886 and $54,157 a year depending on income at California Institute of Technology.

Statement of cost · California Institute of Technology

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$86,886
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
−$2,133
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$16,075
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$65,898

Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.

Net price by family income

Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.

Yearly net price by family income, in dollars

under $30k: −$2,133; $30–48k: −$2,886; $48–75k: $431; $75–110k: $18,753; over $110k: $54,157. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, from $17,360 to $28,210; dotted line at the median, $22,313.
  • Shaded: the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years (all incomes), $17,360 to $28,210. Dotted line: the median, $22,313.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k−$2,133
$30k–$48k−$2,886
$48k–$75k$431
$75k–$110k$18,753
Over $110k$54,157

College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)

A negative figure is reported as is: on average, grants and aid exceeded the listed cost.

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $128,566; median graduate debt is not reported.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$132,140
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$142,597
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
above the 99th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years
$128,566
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
not reported
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$12,000

Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.

Earnings after entry

The shaded band is the middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years: $43,845 to $62,830.

6 yrs after entry: $132,140; 8 yrs after entry: $142,597; 10 yrs after entry: $128,566. Median graduate debt: not reported. Shaded band: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years at 10 years, from $43,845 to $62,830; dotted line at the median, $52,889.
  • Shaded: middle half of private nonprofit 4-years, 10 years out ($43,845 to $62,830); dotted line is the median.

Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Earnings after entry and graduate debt
MeasureDollars
Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry$132,140
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$142,597
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$128,566
Median graduate debtnot reported

College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records

What programs pay

Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.

What programs pay at California Institute of Technology
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Computer ScienceBachelor's Degree67not reportednot reported
ChemistryDoctoral Degree39$133,219not reported
Mechanical EngineeringBachelor's Degree36not reportednot reported
PhysicsBachelor's Degree26not reportednot reported
PhysicsDoctoral Degree24not reportednot reported
PhysicsMaster's Degree20not reportednot reported
Biomedical/Medical EngineeringBachelor's Degree18not reportednot reported
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications EngineeringMaster's Degree18not reportednot reported
Engineering PhysicsMaster's Degree18not reportednot reported
Biomedical/Medical EngineeringDoctoral Degree17not reportednot reported
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications EngineeringBachelor's Degree16not reportednot reported
Astronomy and AstrophysicsMaster's Degree16not reportednot reported
Show all 20 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Geological and Earth Sciences/GeosciencesMaster's Degree15not reportednot reported
Applied MathematicsBachelor's Degree14not reportednot reported
Mechanical EngineeringDoctoral Degree13not reportednot reported
Biology, GeneralDoctoral Degree13not reportednot reported
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space EngineeringDoctoral Degree12not reportednot reported
Biomedical/Medical EngineeringMaster's Degree12not reportednot reported
Chemical EngineeringDoctoral Degree12not reportednot reported
MathematicsBachelor's Degree11not reportednot reported

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

California Institute of Technology: 987 undergraduates; 18% of students receive Pell grants; 3% of applicants are admitted.

Admission rate

3%

below the 1st percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Undergraduates

987

50th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Pell share

18%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

16th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Completion

94%

finish within 150% of normal time

97th percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

First-generation

not reported

Median family income

$44,848

52nd percentile among private nonprofit 4-years

Students by family income

Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.

not reported

Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30knot reported
$30k–$48knot reported
$48k–$75knot reported
$75k–$110knot reported
Over $110knot reported

Who Wikipedia remembers

Wikidata records 4,901 people who studied at California Institute of Technology, most often in science & academia (79%). That is the archive's memory, not a census.

What the recorded alumni are remembered for

Share of recorded people by field, in a fixed order so schools compare.

Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school, in a fixed order: science & academia 79% (3,385 people); medicine 0.4% (19 people); law 0.2% (9 people); politics & gov 0.9% (38 people); business 1.4% (59 people); engineering & tech 13% (560 people); writing & journalism 1.7% (74 people); film & stage 0.3% (11 people); music 0.2% (7 people); visual arts 0.3% (11 people); sports 0.2% (8 people); religion 0.1% (3 people); military 1.9% (83 people). These are shares of people recorded in Wikidata, the archive's memory, not a census of alumni.
Table of the same numbers
Fields of the people the archive recorded for this school (the archive's memory, not a census)
FieldPeople recordedShare
science & academia3,38579.3%
medicine190.4%
law90.2%
politics & gov380.9%
business591.4%
engineering & tech56013.1%
writing & journalism741.7%
film & stage110.3%
music70.2%
visual arts110.3%
sports80.2%
religion30.1%
military831.9%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

most recorded occupationsresearcher (1,894) · university teacher (719) · physicist (399) · mathematician (214) · engineer (188) · astronomer (165) · chemist (165) · computer scientist (165)

Women among recorded alumni, by birth decade

Counts reflect who the archive records, not a census.

Share of women among recorded alumni, from 3% for the 1900s to 22% for the 2000s. Decades with fewer than 5 recorded people are not drawn, and 4 decades are marked not reported for women. The line breaks at every decade not drawn.

Counts only people the archive records with a gender. Hollow marks are decades with no women reported or fewer than 5 recorded, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Recorded alumni by birth decade
BornWomenMenShare women
1860snot reported1not reported
1870snot reported2not reported
1880snot reported2not reported
1890snot reported24not reported
1900s31013%
1910s11631%
1920s12220%
1930s41862%
1940s132136%
1950s182018%
1960s2612317%
1970s156918%
1980s212645%
1990s22not reported
2000s82922%

Source: Wikidata, via the archive's memory (not a census).

Wikipedia attention, by month

Wikipedia attention

monthly views

Monthly Wikipedia article views from 2015-07 to 2026-06; peak 70,465 in 2016-01.
Table of the same numbers
Wikipedia article views by month
MonthViews
2026-0625,851
2026-0531,134
2026-0438,069
2026-0325,595
2026-0223,330
2026-0129,516
2025-1228,285
2025-1128,127
2025-1029,618
2025-0929,000
2025-0830,899
2025-0729,147
2025-0626,295
2025-0528,953
2025-0433,155
2025-0338,656
2025-0232,402
2025-0143,178
2024-1237,914
2024-1138,130
2024-1039,564
2024-0940,328
2024-0838,686
2024-0733,755
2024-0640,757
2024-0556,973
2024-0452,270
2024-0344,116
2024-0243,488
2024-0147,805
2023-1243,923
2023-1141,600
2023-1036,811
2023-0940,081
2023-0849,363
2023-0762,654
2023-0637,698
2023-0541,098
2023-0438,415
2023-0343,007
2023-0234,088
2023-0138,150
2022-1236,268
2022-1137,190
2022-1038,889
2022-0935,389
2022-0840,185
2022-0736,363
2022-0633,633
2022-0533,699
2022-0435,052
2022-0334,058
2022-0235,127
2022-0140,311
2021-1236,119
2021-1136,236
2021-1042,735
2021-0942,271
2021-0840,553
2021-0741,157
2021-0635,195
2021-0540,940
2021-0442,948
2021-0346,138
2021-0243,076
2021-0141,089
2020-1242,992
2020-1141,684
2020-1038,044
2020-0935,636
2020-0837,281
2020-0735,919
2020-0636,881
2020-0555,410
2020-0448,430
2020-0337,608
2020-0239,049
2020-0143,707
2019-1243,450
2019-1139,843
2019-1044,488
2019-0943,519
2019-0839,728
2019-0748,429
2019-0635,331
2019-0541,316
2019-0445,256
2019-0340,762
2019-0233,826
2019-0140,347
2018-1239,388
2018-1140,470
2018-1043,442
2018-0936,419
2018-0836,034
2018-0732,759
2018-0631,577
2018-0536,741
2018-0438,092
2018-0345,989
2018-0231,915
2018-0139,050
2017-1235,160
2017-1135,279
2017-1042,090
2017-0938,327
2017-0836,391
2017-0733,009
2017-0631,968
2017-0537,125
2017-0438,552
2017-0339,678
2017-0239,436
2017-0141,740
2016-1240,526
2016-1139,550
2016-1051,759
2016-0947,446
2016-0836,657
2016-0735,603
2016-0636,304
2016-0540,347
2016-0441,271
2016-0342,827
2016-0242,524
2016-0170,465
2015-1240,526
2015-1140,049
2015-1052,626
2015-0940,736
2015-0839,839
2015-0740,011

Source: Wikimedia pageviews.

Nobel laureates who studied here

  • Carl David Anderson Physics 1936
  • Edwin McMillan Chemistry 1951
  • Linus Pauling Chemistry 1954
  • William Shockley Physics 1956
  • Donald Arthur Glaser Physics 1960
  • Linus Pauling Peace 1962
Show all 26
  • Charles Hard Townes Physics 1964
  • James Rainwater Physics 1975
  • Howard Temin Medicine 1975
  • William Lipscomb Chemistry 1976
  • Robert Wilson Physics 1978
  • Kenneth G. Wilson Physics 1982
  • William Alfred Fowler Physics 1983
  • Edward B. Lewis Medicine 1995
  • Douglas Osheroff Physics 1996
  • Robert C. Merton Economics 1997
  • Lee Hartwell Medicine 2001
  • Vernon L. Smith Economics 2002
  • Martin Karplus Chemistry 2013
  • Eric Betzig Chemistry 2014
  • Arthur B. McDonald Physics 2015
  • Kip S. Thorne Physics 2017
  • Michael Rosbash Medicine 2017
  • Andrea M. Ghez Physics 2020
  • Ardem Patapoutian Medicine 2021
  • John Clauser Physics 2022

The portrait wall

Ordered by Wikipedia footprint (language editions).

Show all 15 portraits

Similar schools

These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.

Sources & caveats

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.

not reported
Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
Percentiles
A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
Earnings
Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
  • U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
  • Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
  • Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.
  • Wikidata is not an alumni census: a person appears only when volunteer editors record them. Counts measure the archive's memory - access x achievement x documentation - never placement rates or institutional quality.
  • Images are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses. Render the credit line (artist + license) with every image.

Lead text from Wikipedia (revision 1364261434), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.