Career outcomes brief
California State University-Northridge Career Outcomes & Earnings
How much do CSUN graduates earn?
California State University-Northridge reports median earnings of $59,664 four years after completion. Its lower and higher planning estimates are $46,955 and $86,119.
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
- $46,955
- Median · reported
- $59,664
- Higher estimate
- $86,119
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.
Graduates of California State University-Northridge earn about $12,735 more than expects for similar students, a level in the 88th percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,625.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,110. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $706.
Four years after completion, completers who are working and not enrolled post median earnings of $59,664, in the 50th percentile. That sits below the peer median of $65,610 by $5,946 among comparable institutions (same type and size).
Azimuth ranks the return at the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The earnings scenarios show a wide range tied to program choice at California State University-Northridge. The downside earnings scenario sits at $46,955, while the upside scenario reaches $86,119.
Program-level data sharpens the picture: Nursing completers earn a median of $116,613 four years after completion, and Allied Health Professions completers earn $105,747. The largest program, Psychology, shows median earnings of $49,792.
An estimated 28.5% 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, the median earnings understate the eventual earnings of the sizable share of completers who pursue advanced degrees.
Earnings by field
Among California State University-Northridge programs with a reported four-year earnings value, the highest medians are: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($116,613); Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions ($105,747); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($104,065); Computer Science ($101,348); Computer Engineering ($101,021). 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 University-Northridge reports earnings data for 46 bachelor's programs, and Azimuth ranks 39 of them nationally. The university's highest-earning field is Nursing, where completers earn a median of $116,613 four years after completion, with 155 degrees awarded.
Computer Science is the largest of the top earners, awarding 251 degrees and showing a median of $101,348. Among the largest programs, Business Administration and Management leads on earnings at $65,760 with 805 degrees awarded.
Psychology, the biggest program by degrees awarded at 930, reports a median of $49,792, while Criminal Justice reaches $54,169 on 442 degrees awarded.
California State University-Northridge has 39 nationally ranked bachelor's program and publishes earnings data for 46 programs. The largest program, Psychology, awarded 930 degrees and shows median earnings of $49,792 four years after completion.
The highest-earning programs are in health and engineering fields. Nursing completers earn a median of $116,613, followed by Allied Health Professions at $105,747 and Electrical Engineering at $104,065.
Among the university's nationally ranked programs, Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences ranks #3 in its field and #1 in California.
Do CSUN graduates earn more than expected?
California State University-Northridge reports median earnings of $59,664 four years after completion. The reported value is $12,735 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.
- +$6,625
- Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
- +$6,110
- Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
- +$12,735
These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Further analysis
Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show a downside of $46,955, a typical outcome of $59,664, and an upside of $86,119. Anchoring the range in named programs, Nursing graduates earn a median of $116,613 four years after completion, while Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, sits at $49,359.
Four years after completion, California State University-Northridge graduates earn a median of $59,664, drawn from a cohort of 9,680 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Graduates earn about $12,735 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, show a typical outcome of $59,664, a downside scenario of $46,955, and an upside scenario of $86,119. The model estimates that 28.5% 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