+28%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at California State University-Chico rose 28% between 2007 and 2010 ($8.2k → $10.5k).
California · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Chico State
Chico, California. 13,057 undergraduate students. 120 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Chico State
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-Chico fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.2% → 0.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Chico State 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.
$64,172+27% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$50,493
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry63.6%+24% · '97→'24
California median 61.3%$14,500+52% · '97→'10
At program completion13,057+19% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS83.7%-0% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time93.7%+13% · '01→'24
latest cohort$8,064+317% · '00→'24
out-of-state $19,944SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Chico State 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 Chico State
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
3.0%Median federal debt $14,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $64,172 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Chico State 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.
+24%
Chico State · completion · 150% rose
50.8% → 62.8%
+169%
Chico State · completion · 100% rose
13.3% → 35.9%
+317%
Chico State · in-state tuition rose
$2,030 → $8,472
+124%
Chico State · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,410 → $21,072
+52%
Chico State · median debt rose
$6,915 → $10,544
-100%
Chico State · cohort default rate fell
5.8% → 0.0%
+49%
Chico State · pell share rose
28.4% → 42.5%
+28%
Chico State · earnings_median_8yr rose
$45,700 → $58,630
+26%
Chico State · earnings_median_6yr rose
$40,100 → $50,493
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Chico State 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.
Computer Science$125,103Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$120,599Construction Management$116,720Computer Engineering$107,580Mechanical Engineering$102,703Civil Engineering$101,629Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians$97,724Engineering, Other$95,485Engineering-Related Fields$92,561Computer and Information Sciences, General$90,685Accounting and Related Services$80,392Communication Disorders Sciences and Services$80,364Business Administration, Management and Operations$79,303Business Administration, Management and Operations$76,356Social Work$73,410Economics$73,084Psychology, General$72,367Geography and Cartography$72,207Plant Sciences$70,548Agricultural Business and Management$67,962Microbiological Sciences and Immunology$64,331Agriculture, General$64,138Political Science and Government$62,565Mathematics$62,551
Showing top 24 of 52 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
52 Chico State 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
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
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
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
AGRICULTURE · CIP 01
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
AREA, ETHNIC & CULTURAL STUDIES · CIP 05
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Chico State in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Chico State graduates earn $X” — not “Chico State makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Chico State 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.