Cost & financial aid brief
California State University-Long Beach Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does CSU Long Beach cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 54% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. In the lowest band, families earning under $30,000 average $7,183.
The average is $7,831 for the $30,001–$48,000 band, $9,705 for $48,001–$75,000, $12,630 for $75,001–$110,000, and $19,750 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,567.
The pattern shows lower average net prices at lower incomes, with the gap widening at higher incomes.
California State University-Long Beach publishes a cost of attendance of $22,679. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $7,183.
In the $48,001–$75,000 band, it is $9,705, and for families earning over $110,000, it is $19,750. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,567.
Azimuth ranks the university #70 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 54% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $12,239.
The average net price across all aid recipients is $10,440. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634, placing California State University-Long Beach below by $5,194.
The median federal student debt at completion is $14,289, with about 54.9% of federal aid recipients borrowing. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median debt is $20,076, so the university's median is below by $5,787.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $15,177. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $162 a month if repaid over ten years.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
The median federal student debt at completion for California State University-Long Beach is $14,289. 54.9% of federal aid recipients borrow through federal programs.
The university's median is below the $20,076 figure for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,787. The median Parent PLUS loan, for the separate parent-borrower population, is $15,177.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 44% of 5,828 bachelor's graduates who started as first-time students borrowed from any source. Those borrowers averaged $17,947 in cumulative principal per borrower.
Of those graduates, 42% held federal loans averaging $17,204, including 2% with private loans averaging $22,368.
The investment picture at California State University-Long Beach is mixed: earnings are solid but sit below the peer median, while debt is lower than what comparable institutions carry. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $63,140.
Azimuth places that figure in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,705 more than expects for similar students, an outcome that falls in the 67th percentile.
Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $47,253 in a downside case to $88,247 in an upside case, with $63,140 representing the typical outcome. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt of $14,289 is $5,787 below the $20,076 peer median.
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $162 a month if repaid over ten years.
Parent borrowers at the university took on a median of $15,177 in Parent PLUS loans, a separate federal borrowing population. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $162.
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
- $15,177
- Estimated parent payment
- $193/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
- $14,289
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $15,177
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $162/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $193/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $355/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 $63,140, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
4.8% 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
The income spectrum compares the estimated student payment with the income left after the selected annual expense allowance. Changing the earnings scenario or allowance changes that comparison; parent payments are not included in this calculation.
The earnings choices are planning scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles or predictions of an individual graduate’s pay. The allowance is an adjustable model input, not a verified budget for your household.
Read the result as a comparison under those assumptions, not a guarantee that a payment is affordable.
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.
Federal student and Parent PLUS borrowing figures do not capture all private education loans. A federal balance therefore should not be described as a family’s complete borrowing total.
Annual loan awards in a Common Data Set, when available, answer a different question from accumulated borrower debt. Compare amounts only after identifying the loan type, reporting period and population; annual school-wide awards cannot be added to a median borrower balance.
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.