unitid 366711 · San Marcos, CA · public 4-year · suburb (large)
California State University-San Marcos
- enrollment 2023
- 16,760
- predominant degree
- Bachelor's
scorecard 2026-06 · percentiles within public 4-years
The record
admission rate
95%
84th pctl among public 4-years
undergraduates
14,877
81st pctl among public 4-years
Pell share
43%
undergrads on Pell grants
79th pctl among public 4-years
completion
55%
finish within 150% time
69th pctl among public 4-years
sticker cost / yr
$21,649
46th pctl among public 4-years
avg net price / yr
$10,229
after aid, aided students
33rd pctl among public 4-years
median earnings, 10 yr
$62,908
after entry, Title IV students
80th pctl among public 4-years
median grad debt
$17,350
36th pctl among public 4-years
what families actually pay
Cost
Sticker price is a fiction for most families — net price is what aided students pay after grants, by family income.
Average net price by family income, 2023–24 aid cohort
Families earning under $30k paid $6,230 per year after aid.
Dashed hollow marks are privacy-suppressed brackets — not zero. Band: middle half of public 4-years (all incomes).
Who enrolls, by family income
- 0-30k35%
- 30-48k19%
- 48-75k19%
- 75-110k12%
- 110k+15%
- Median family income
- $31,283
- First-generation students
- 48%
- In-state tuition & fees
- $8,082
earnings · debt · programs
Outcomes
Median earnings after entry, working grads with federal aid
Ten years out, the median graduate earns 3.6× the median graduate debt.
Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only.
What programs pay — top fields of study
| program | grads | earn 5 yr | debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | 471 | $74,005 | $19,015 |
| Psychology, General. | 315 | $54,559 | $18,312 |
| Sociology. | 295 | $51,480 | $15,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | 278 | $105,792 | $25,047 |
| Criminology. | 234 | $54,589 | $14,810 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | 201 | $55,408 | $16,500 |
| Biology, General. | 188 | $76,916 | $24,174 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | 164 | $63,880 | $18,257 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | 163 | $49,769 | $17,193 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | 155 | $55,289 | $15,125 |
| Computer Science. | 152 | $110,266 | $12,850 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | 117 | — | $15,150 |
— is privacy suppression at small programs, never zero. Earnings are median, 5 years after completing.
annual scorecard files, 1996–2026
Trajectory
Line breaks are years where the measure wasn't collected — a gap is not a zero.
Admission rate
Price per year
- sticker
- net
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
Undergraduates
nearest neighbors in sector
Compare with peers
built 2026-07-17
Provenance
- 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.