Bachelor's · Arcata, California

Is Sociology at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $37,177; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $51,711; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $60k (likely $58k – $83k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $11k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 9 years (likely 6.2–15.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$161k (likely −$242k – −$84k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1k (likely −$145k – $165k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 44%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26