Master's · Seaside, California
Is Social Work at California State University-Monterey Bay 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 fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.7 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $84,055
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $103,062
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $17,288
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
- $18k (likely $18k – $18k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $35k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 1.7 years (likely 1.2–2.5)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $158k (likely $48k – $285k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $603k (likely $343k – $898k)
- Today's dollars
Change income, residency or loans Compare Social Work at other schools
Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.
Other majors at California State University-Monterey Bay
- Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's)$145,281
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's)$134,489
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$115,179
- Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's)$104,220
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$101,787
- Education, General (Master's)$80,296
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's)$74,298
- Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy (Master's)$73,905
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's)$72,558
- Mathematics (Bachelor's)$62,943
- International/Globalization Studies (Bachelor's)$61,480
- Marine Sciences (Bachelor's)$59,782
Social Work at other schools in California
- California State University-East Bay$96,198
- San Francisco State University$94,452
- California State University-Bakersfield$86,527
- University of California-Los Angeles$85,426
- California State University-Stanislaus$84,837
- California State University-Dominguez Hills$84,628
- California State University-Sacramento$84,100
- California State University-Long Beach$82,395
- California State University-Northridge$81,505
- California State University-San Bernardino$81,476