+50%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at California State University-San Marcos rose 50% between 2006 and 2009 ($3.1k → $4.7k).
California · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Cal State San Marcos
San Marcos, California. 14,174 undergraduate students. 84 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Cal State San Marcos
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-San Marcos fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.5% → 0.0%).
+14%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at California State University-San Marcos rose 14% between 2006 and 2009 ($8.8k → $10.0k).
+51%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at California State University-San Marcos rose 51% between 2021 and 2024 (18.6% → 28.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. California
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.
$62,908+29% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$48,673
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry54.2%+104% · '01→'24
California median 61.3%$13,500+64% · '97→'09
At program completion14,174+142% · '96→'09
latest IPEDS74.8%+2% · '04→'09
first-time, full-time95.7%+50% · '01→'24
latest cohort$7,739+173% · '00→'09
out-of-state $19,619SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How 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
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
2.9%Median federal debt $13,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $62,908 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
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.
+104%
Cal State San Marcos · completion · 150% rose
26.8% → 54.6%
+351%
Cal State San Marcos · completion · 100% rose
6.2% → 28.0%
+142%
Cal State San Marcos · undergrad enrollment rose
3,595 → 8,708
+173%
Cal State San Marcos · in-state tuition rose
$1,706 → $4,650
+128%
Cal State San Marcos · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,086 → $20,682
+64%
Cal State San Marcos · median debt rose
$6,102 → $10,000
-100%
Cal State San Marcos · cohort default rate fell
3.5% → 0.0%
SECTION 05 · 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.$134,848Business Administration, Management and Operations.$110,496Computer Science.$110,266Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$105,792Finance and Financial Management Services.$87,253Education, General.$82,880Special Education and Teaching.$82,494Accounting and Related Services.$81,423Physics.$80,480Economics.$77,155Biology, General.$76,916Marketing.$75,915Computer and Information Sciences, General.$75,438Biotechnology.$75,425Business Administration, Management and Operations.$74,005Social Work.$72,619Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences.$72,329Business/Commerce, General.$68,281Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$63,880Social Sciences, General.$63,814Communication and Media Studies.$55,408Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$55,289Criminology.$54,589Psychology, General.$54,559
Showing top 24 of 31 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
31 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
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
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
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
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Cal State San Marcos graduates earn $X” — not “Cal State San Marcos makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Cal State San Marcos 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.