Cost & financial aid brief
California State University-Chico Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Chico State cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 45% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a reduction of $11,803 from the sticker price. The pattern across income bands is relatively flat.
The lowest-income band averages $9,902 while the highest band averages $23,566, a spread of $13,664 between the two ends. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that first-year students with need received an average need-based grant of $14,474 in the 2025-26 academic year.
Those grants met an average of 61% of demonstrated need. Of the 1,269 first-year students determined to have need, 320 had their need fully met.
California State University-Chico publishes a cost of attendance of $26,283, with in-state tuition and fees of $8,472 and room and board at $16,500. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $9,902; it is $12,961 for the $48,001–$75,000 band and $23,566 for families earning over $110,000.
Azimuth ranks the university #185 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The average net price for first-time full-time Title IV aid recipients is $14,480, which reflects an average financial aid savings of $11,803 against the published sticker price.
That average net price sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $1,154. Out-of-state students face a published tuition and fees of $21,072 before any aid is applied.
74.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and the median federal student debt at completion is $16,552. That figure is below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $3,524.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $17,585. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on the median federal debt is $188.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Completers who borrowed federally left California State University-Chico with a median debt of $16,552. Against a comparable-institution median of $20,076 (same type and size), the university sits below by $3,524.
74.4% of federal aid recipients use federal loans. A separate parent-borrower population shows a median Parent PLUS debt of $17,585.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 27% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $5,715 per borrower. Of those borrowers, 26% held federal loans averaging $5,303 and 3% carried private loans averaging $11,844.
Graduates of California State University-Chico earn about $12,980 more than expects for similar students, placing that outcome in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, graduates who are working and not enrolled record median earnings of $65,228, a level in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix suggest a typical outcome of $65,228, a downside scenario of $48,437, and an upside scenario of $92,168. The median federal debt among completers who borrowed is $16,552, a balance that sits below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $188.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $17,585. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $188.
Repayment figures are in the Financial GPS card below. Borrowing populations and model assumptions.
Parent loans: what can the family afford?
How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families
- Median Parent PLUS debt
- $17,585
- Estimated parent payment
- $223/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | Safe |
| $150,000 | Safe |
| $200,000 | Safe |
The model holds the parent balance fixed and varies parent income. Read the assumptions and limits.
Student and parent loans: the monthly payments
Financial GPS
What does repayment look like?
- Institution median student debt
- $16,552
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $17,585
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $188/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $223/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $411/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Student payment as a share of available income
At median graduate earnings of $65,228, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
5.3% of income above the allowance · Excellent
- Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
- Good 8–under 12%
- Concerning 12–20%
- High risk Over 20%
How this estimate works
These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $22,590, uses the published framework’s 2024 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.
Payment assumptions
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.
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.
Net price and borrowing. The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. College Scorecard data and documentation.
A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.