+46%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at California State University-Bakersfield rose 45% between 2007 and 2010 ($5.5k → $8.0k).
California · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Cal State Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California. 8,183 undergraduate students. 68 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Cal State Bakersfield
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at California State University-Bakersfield fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.7% → 0.0%).
+69%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at California State University-Bakersfield rose 69% between 2021 and 2024 (17.4% → 29.5%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Cal State Bakersfield earnings, debt, and completion vs. the California median
Each tile compares this institution to the California median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$59,009+33% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$44,282
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry49.3%+67% · '97→'24
California median 61.3%$11,270+124% · '97→'10
At program completion8,183+58% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS79.7%+4% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time88.2%+43% · '01→'24
latest cohort$7,696+349% · '00→'24
out-of-state $19,576SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Cal State Bakersfield earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at Cal State Bakersfield
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.5%Median federal debt $11,270 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $59,009 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Cal State Bakersfield enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+67%
Cal State Bakersfield · completion · 150% rose
29.8% → 49.8%
+312%
Cal State Bakersfield · completion · 100% rose
7.2% → 29.5%
+58%
Cal State Bakersfield · undergrad enrollment rose
4,189 → 6,630
+349%
Cal State Bakersfield · in-state tuition rose
$1,801 → $8,090
+125%
Cal State Bakersfield · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,181 → $20,690
+124%
Cal State Bakersfield · median debt rose
$3,565 → $8,000
-100%
Cal State Bakersfield · cohort default rate fell
6.4% → 0.0%
+22%
Cal State Bakersfield · pell share rose
49.7% → 60.7%
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Cal State Bakersfield programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$111,384Business Administration, Management and Operations$99,567Engineering Science$88,102Education, General$86,211Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology$85,746Computer Science$83,688Social Work$78,867Natural Resources Management and Policy$76,104Student Counseling and Personnel Services$71,950Public Administration$69,542Chemistry$68,270Mathematics$66,465English Language and Literature, General$64,875Public Administration$63,595Criminal Justice and Corrections$61,462Biology, General$59,736Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities$58,622Business Administration, Management and Operations$57,559Sociology$56,392Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other$53,901Psychology, General$53,226Health and Physical Education/Fitness$52,896Communication and Media Studies$52,429Political Science and Government$52,098
Showing top 24 of 26 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
26 Cal State Bakersfield programs with earnings, grouped by field
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Cal State Bakersfield in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Cal State Bakersfield graduates earn $X” — not “Cal State Bakersfield makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Cal State Bakersfield caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.