Career outcomes brief
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Career Outcomes & Earnings
How much do Cal Poly Pomona graduates earn?
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona reports median earnings of $71,138 four years after completion. Its lower and higher planning estimates are $49,890 and $98,620.
The lower and higher estimates reflect different mixes of program earnings. They are not observed salary percentiles, the pay of the lowest- and highest-paid quarters of graduates, or probabilities for an individual student.
- Lower estimate
- $49,890
- Median · reported
- $71,138
- Higher estimate
- $98,620
Earnings sources and definitions
The lower estimate lets you examine a plan with less income than the school-wide median. Compare it with costs and with the fields you are considering, while keeping the modeled estimates separate from reported earnings.
Four years after completion, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona graduates earn a median of $71,138, which sits above the $65,610 median of comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,528. That places the university in the 78th percentile for earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Graduates earn about $15,260 more than expects for similar students, a result in the 92nd percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,486.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $4,774. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,070.
The spread between earnings scenarios at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona is wide, with the upside scenario of $98,620 nearly doubling the downside scenario of $49,890. This variation reflects the mix of high-earning engineering and technology programs alongside larger programs in business and the social sciences.
The highest-earning programs shape the upside. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering completers earn a median of $106,171, and Construction Engineering Technology/Technician completers earn $105,812.
Computer Science, a larger program with 202 degrees awarded, shows median earnings of $103,494.
An estimated 29.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, this estimate indicates that a sizable portion of completers may be building additional human capital outside the earnings snapshot.
Earnings by field
Among California State Polytechnic University-Pomona programs with a reported four-year earnings value, the highest medians are: Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering ($106,171); Construction Engineering Technology/Technician ($105,812); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($103,924); Computer Science ($103,494); Chemical Engineering ($102,849). These are earnings after completion for the covered cohort.
A program median describes the middle reported outcome in that group. It is not a starting-salary offer or a prediction for every graduate, and an earnings comparison does not by itself explain why fields differ.
Compare these results with the subjects you want to study and the program’s reported award count. Awards measure degree output, not the number of people in the earnings sample.
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona fields 42 nationally ranked bachelor's programs. Architecture holds an Azimuth national rank of #3 with 107 degrees awarded and median earnings of $76,969 four years after completion.
Landscape Architecture awards 66 degrees, ranks #3 nationally, and reports median earnings of $69,790. The highest-earning fields reach six figures.
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering leads at $106,171 with 163 degrees awarded, followed by Construction Engineering Technology/Technician at $105,812 and Electrical Engineering at $103,924. In contrast, Psychology and Sociology, two of the largest programs by degrees awarded, sit in a more moderate band at $49,747 and $52,694 respectively.
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona offers 46 programs with published earnings data, and Azimuth ranks 42 of them nationally. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 1,561 degrees and holds a national rank of #60 with median earnings of $70,954 four years after completion.
Civil Engineering graduates earn a median of $97,790, and Mechanical Engineering ranks #29 nationally with median earnings of $99,148. The highest-earning program is Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, where completers earn a median of $106,171.
Explore Cal Poly Pomona earnings by field · Cost and borrowing
Do Cal Poly Pomona graduates earn more than expected?
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona reports median earnings of $71,138 four years after completion. The reported value is $15,260 above Azimuth’s statistical expectation for the institution.
The difference compares the reported outcome with a model estimate. It does not compare matched students who attended different colleges, and it does not establish how much the institution caused earnings to change.
Read this measure alongside completion and individual program outcomes. It describes an institution-level result; it does not predict what a particular student will earn.
Read the original article: A value-added approach to college outcomes
- Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
- +$10,486
- Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
- +$4,774
- Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
- +$15,260
These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Further analysis
Earnings vary sharply by field. The downside earnings scenario sits at $49,890, the typical scenario at $71,138, and the upside scenario reaches $98,620.
Among the largest programs, Psychology shows a median of $49,747, while the highest-earning program, Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, reaches $106,171.
Four years after completion, graduates of California State Polytechnic University-Pomona earn a median of $71,138, based on a cohort of 5,948 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median runs above the $65,610 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,528 and lands in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Graduates earn about $15,260 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 92nd percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix point to a typical outcome of $71,138, with a downside scenario of $49,890 and an upside scenario of $98,620.
An estimated 29.1% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study, a share derived from program mix rather than observed enrollment.
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.
Four-year earnings are measured after completion for the covered federally aided cohort of people working and not enrolled. Measures taken six, eight or ten years after entry use a different starting point and should not be treated as one graduating class followed over time.
Program award counts describe credentials awarded, not current enrollment, unique graduates or earnings-sample size. Reporting periods differ across measures; the shared field definitions do not establish the exact vintage of every school-level value.
College Scorecard data and documentation · Model methodology