Cal State East Bay Outcomes: $73K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Cal State East Bay graduates earn?

The reported median is $72,596 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $15,295 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $72,596, at the 80th percentile. That is $15,295 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $21,543 more than expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 97th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $7,812. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $13,731.

Azimuth places the university at the 89th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a wide range: from $53,906 on the downside to $101,584 on the upside, with $72,596 as the typical scenario. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Nursing graduates earn $150,921 four years after completion, from 171 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science follows at $119,900, with 193 degrees awarded.

An estimated 28.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the institution's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because graduate students are not captured in the four-year earnings data, the median earnings figures understate the eventual earnings of the sizable share of completers who pursue advanced degrees.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $72,596
Rank for difference from expectations: 97th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Cal State East Bay reported median: $72,596
Peer schools comparable schools · $15,295 below Cal State East Bay: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $21,543 below Cal State East Bay: $51,053

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: $53,906
Median · reported: $72,596
Higher estimate: $101,584

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 State East Bay 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 State East Bay graduates’ reported earnings are $21,543 above that expectation, the 97th 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 State East Bay caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Cal State East Bay report the highest earnings?

California State University-East Bay awards bachelor's degrees across 25 fields with published four-year earnings, and the contrast between higher- and moderate-earning fields is sharp. Nursing, the highest-earning program, shows a median of $150,921 four years after completion, alongside 171 degrees awarded.

Computer Science follows at $119,900 with 193 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, Business Administration and Management reports median earnings of $77,567 and an Azimuth national rank of #43 on 800 degrees awarded.

Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies sit in a more moderate earnings band at $54,436 and $57,898, respectively, with 460 and 228 degrees awarded. The spread across these fields reflects the university's mix of professional and liberal-arts programs.

Only 18 bachelor's programs at California State University-East Bay hold an Azimuth national rank, yet the largest, Business Administration and Management, awarded 800 degrees and ranks #43 nationally. Completers earn a median of $77,567 four years after completion.

The university's best national standing belongs to Nursing, ranked #2 nationally and #2 in California. It awarded 171 degrees and shows a median of $150,921.

The highest-earning field is Nursing, with 171 degrees awarded and a median of $150,921. Psychology, the second-largest program, awarded 460 degrees and reports a median of $54,436.

Criminal Justice awarded 238 degrees, with a median of $64,835. Across the catalog, earnings data are published for 25 bachelor's fields.

Further analysis

Earnings vary sharply by field of study in earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix. The downside earnings scenario sits at $53,906, the typical scenario at $72,596, and the upside scenario reaches $101,584.

Anchoring the range in named programs, the highest-earning program, Nursing, reaches $150,921, while among the largest programs Psychology sits at $54,436.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of California State University-East Bay who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $72,596. That figure is $15,295 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the university's median earnings in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 3,637 completers. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical figure of $72,596, with a downside scenario of $53,906 and an upside scenario of $101,584.

An estimated 28.4% 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.