College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

California State University-Dominguez Hills Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do CSUDH graduates earn?

The reported median is $58,922 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is -$6,688 per year.

Azimuth places the return for California State University-Dominguez Hills in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,012 more than expects for similar students, a level in the 89th percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,127. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $9,885.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $95. Four years after completion, the median earnings of California State University-Dominguez Hills completers reach $58,922, in the 47th percentile.

That figure runs below the peer median of $65,610 by $6,688 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

The highest-earning programs at California State University-Dominguez Hills show the range of outcomes four years after completion. Nursing graduates earn a median of $118,588, and Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions completers earn $109,642.

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services graduates reach a median of $75,412. Across all programs, the downside scenario sits at $47,950 while the upside scenario reaches $87,690, a spread that shows the variation in earnings tied to different fields of study.

The estimated share of graduates continuing to graduate study, derived from the program mix, is 30.0%. Because earnings measured four years after completion capture only those working and not enrolled, students pursuing advanced degrees do not appear in that data.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$58,922
Rank for difference from expectations
88th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
CSUDH reported median
$58,922
Peer schools comparable schools · $6,688 above CSUDH
$65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $13,012 below CSUDH
$45,910

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?

The planning scenarios range from $47,950 to $87,690, around the reported median of $58,922. Compare the lower scenario with CSUDH borrowing and monthly payments to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion
Planning rangeReported median
Lower estimate
$47,950
Median · reported
$58,922
Higher estimate
$87,690

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 CSUDH 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.

CSUDH graduates’ reported earnings are $13,012 above that expectation, the 88th 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 CSUDH caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,127
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$9,885
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$13,012

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Which fields at CSUDH report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at California State University-Dominguez Hills are concentrated in health fields, and they are not the largest by degrees awarded. Nursing graduates earn a median of $118,588 four years after completion, from 181 degrees awarded a year.

Azimuth ranks the program #21 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions is smaller still, at 62 degrees awarded, but its median earnings of $109,642 place it #2 nationally.

The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awards 591 degrees and posts a more moderate median of $63,662, ranked #132 in its field. Psychology and Sociology round out the largest programs, with earnings of $52,742 and $55,100 respectively.

The pattern is one a student should see clearly: the fields that pay the most here are not the ones awarding the most degrees.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$118,588
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
$109,642
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other
$75,412
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$74,788
Mathematics
$68,900
Public Administration
$68,008
Human Resources Management and Services
$64,677
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$63,662

Explore CSUDH program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

The variation across fields is visible in the earnings scenarios, which are grounded in the university's program mix. The downside earnings scenario sits at $47,950, the typical scenario at $58,922, and the upside scenario reaches $87,690.

Anchoring the range in named programs, the highest-earning program, Nursing, reaches $118,588, while among the largest programs Teacher Education sits at $44,654.

California State University-Dominguez Hills ranks in the 89th percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions, as graduates earn about $13,012 more than the model expects for similar students. The median earnings four years after completion among 4,020 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled is $58,922.

That figure is below the $65,610 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,688. It falls in the 47th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Program-mix earnings scenarios model a typical return of $58,922, a lower-bound outcome of $47,950, and an upper-bound outcome of $87,690. The model estimates that 30.0% 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.