California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt: Outcomes

How much do California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt graduates earn?

The reported median is $51,571 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is -$5,730 per year.

Return is the weakest of the four for California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt, at the 23rd percentile. Graduates earn about $507 more than expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That places the gap at the 57th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,371.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,878. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $51,571, in the 22nd percentile.

That is $5,730 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The spread between the downside and upside earnings scenarios at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt reflects the variation across the university's 29 programs with published data. Four years after completion, the downside earnings scenario is $40,093 and the upside scenario reaches $65,121.

The highest-earning programs show what the upper end of that range looks like. Forestry completers earn a median of $79,849, while Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering graduates reach $78,225 and Computer Science graduates earn $74,620.

An estimated 35.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings reflect only those working and not enrolled, so the median does not capture completers who later earn advanced degrees.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $51,571
Rank for difference from expectations: 56th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt reported median: $51,571
Peer schools comparable schools · $5,730 above California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $507 below California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt: $51,064

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 many California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt first-year students return?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26

Returned the following fall: 77.2%

Source: California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $40,093
Median · reported: $51,571
Higher estimate: $65,121

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 California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt 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.

California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt graduates’ reported earnings are $507 above that expectation, the 56th 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 California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt report the highest earnings?

The university's highest-earning bachelor's programs reach well beyond its overall median four years after completion, though the largest programs sit closer to that figure. Forestry leads at $79,849 with 34 degrees awarded.

Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering follows at $78,225 and 51 degrees awarded, and Computer Science reaches $74,620 with 28 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, Business Administration and Management shows median earnings of $60,005 on 110 degrees awarded.

Biology earns $55,707. Psychology, the largest program with 143 degrees awarded, reports $45,889.

The spread between the highest-earning and largest programs reflects the mix of fields that defines the university's return picture.

California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt publishes earnings data for 29 bachelor's programs, and 23 holds an Azimuth national rank. The largest program, Psychology, awarded 143 degrees and shows a median of $45,889 four years after completion.

The highest-earning program is Forestry, where completers earn a median of $79,849 four years after completion, with 34 degrees awarded. Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering follows at $78,225 with 51 degrees awarded, and Computer Science at $74,620 with 28 degrees awarded.

The university's best-ranked program is Forestry, which ranks #2 nationally and #1 in California. It awarded 34 degrees and its completers earn a median of $79,849.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show how earnings vary by field: a downside of $40,093, a typical outcome of $51,571, and an upside of $65,121. Anchoring the range in named programs, Forestry graduates earn a median of $79,849 four years after completion, while the largest program, Psychology, sits at $45,889.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers from California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $51,571, based on a cohort of 2,165 completers. That figure sits below the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), placing the university at the 22nd percentile nationally.

Graduates earn about $507 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome matching the observed median, with a downside scenario of $40,093 and an upside scenario reaching $65,121.

An estimated 35.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings picture is mixed: the median sits below the peer benchmark, yet the typical scenario aligns with the model's expectation for similar students.

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.