Bachelor's · Davis, California

Is Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology at University of California-Davis worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $47,053; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $66,607; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $15,245; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $61k (likely $61k – $76k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $27k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4.5 years (likely 3.3–6.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$216 (likely −$106k – $116k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $333k (likely $105k – $589k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 86%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26