Bachelor's · Pomona, California

Is Education, Other at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 11.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $35,672; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $45,285; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $12,238; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $40k (likely $40k – $56k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $5k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 11.7 years (likely 7.5–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$184k (likely −$256k – −$129k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$102k (likely −$211k – $24k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 68%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26