Cal Poly SLO Career Outcomes: $91K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Cal Poly SLO graduates earn?

The reported median is $90,662 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $25,052 per year.

Azimuth places the return for California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $19,345 more than expects for similar students, a figure in the 95th percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,041. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $7,304.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,604. Four years after completion, completers at the university who are working and not enrolled post median earnings of $90,662, a level in the 94th percentile.

That figure runs above the peer median of $65,610 by $25,052 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

Earnings at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo vary widely by field, with the downside scenario at $62,554 and the upside scenario reaching $123,875. Several programs exceed that upside: Computer Science graduates earn a median of $154,784 four years after completion, Computer Engineering completers earn $148,950, and Electrical Engineering completers earn $125,240.

Construction Management reaches $118,331, and Industrial Engineering completers earn $112,797.

Derived from program mix rather than observed enrollment, the estimated share of graduates who continue to graduate study is 27.9%. Four-year earnings capture only those working and not enrolled, so that estimate offers context for reading the median figures.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $90,662
Rank for difference from expectations: 95th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Cal Poly SLO reported median: $90,662
Peer schools comparable schools · $25,052 below Cal Poly SLO: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $19,345 below Cal Poly SLO: $71,317

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $62,554
Median · reported: $90,662
Higher estimate: $123,875

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do Cal Poly SLO graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

Cal Poly SLO graduates’ reported earnings are $19,345 above that expectation, the 95th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending Cal Poly SLO caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Cal Poly SLO report the highest earnings?

The largest programs at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo span a wide earnings range four years after completion. Computer Science graduates earn a median of $154,784, while Animal Sciences graduates earn $54,805.

Business Administration and Management awards the most degrees, 753 a year, with median earnings of $110,902. Azimuth ranks it #10 nationally within its field.

Computer Science is the highest-earning among the largest programs with published earnings, at $154,784 from 163 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #26 nationally. Animal Sciences, with 165 degrees a year, sits at the more moderate end, though Azimuth still ranks it #4 nationally in its field.

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo publishes earnings data for 51 bachelor's fields, and 46 hold an Azimuth national rank. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 753 degrees, ranks #10 nationally, and its completers earn a median of $110,902 four years after completion.

Mechanical Engineering awarded 272 degrees, ranks #14 nationally, and completers earn a median of $106,750 four years after completion. Computer Science, with 163 degrees awarded, ranks #26 nationally and shows a median of $154,784 four years after completion.

Three programs hold the top spot in their field nationally: Construction Management awarded 123 degrees and completers earn $118,331 four years after completion; Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies awarded 95 degrees with median earnings of $75,181; and Graphic Communications awarded 83 degrees and completers earn $79,432 four years after completion.

Further analysis

Earnings vary sharply by field. The highest-earning program, Computer Science, reaches $154,784, while among the largest programs with published earnings Animal Sciences sits at $54,805.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $62,554, a typical outcome of $90,662, and an upside of $123,875.

Among federally aided completers at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo who are working and not enrolled, median earnings four years after completion are $90,662. That is $25,052 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The sample covers completers across all fields, not a single program. Graduates earn about $19,345 more than the model expects for similar students.

That result sits at the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #63 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Typical earnings under the program-mix scenario are $90,662, with a downside of $62,554 and an upside of $123,875. These figures show the range across program clusters.

An estimated 27.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.