College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

California State University-San Bernardino Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do CSUSB graduates earn?

The reported median is $55,441 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is -$10,169 per year.

Azimuth ranks the return for California State University-San Bernardino in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university's weakest pillar alongside strong affordability and mobility scores. Graduates earn about $8,919 more than expects for similar students, a level in the 81st percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,668. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,251.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $956. Median earnings four years after completion stand at $55,441, in the 35th percentile.

The peer median among comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, leaving the university below by $10,169.

The earnings scenarios reveal a range from $44,540 on the downside to $68,882 on the upside, reflecting the variation across the university's program mix. The highest-earning programs show what is possible at the upper end: Nursing completers earn a median of $109,499 four years after completion, while Computer Engineering completers earn $92,492.

Among larger programs, Business Administration and Management awards 686 degrees and shows median earnings of $56,361, and Psychology awards 536 degrees with median earnings of $48,326.

An estimated 30.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the institution's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, this estimate indicates that a sizable portion of completers may be building additional human capital outside the earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$55,441
Rank for difference from expectations
81st percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
CSUSB reported median
$55,441
Peer schools comparable schools · $10,169 above CSUSB
$65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $8,919 below CSUSB
$46,522

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 many CSUSB students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26
Returned the following fall
80.0%
Completed within six years
53.0%
Pell recipients completed within six years
54.0%

Source: California State University-San Bernardino Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention; B4–B11 six-year completion. Retention and completion follow different entering cohorts.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $44,540 to $68,882, around the reported median of $55,441. Compare the lower scenario with CSUSB 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
$44,540
Median · reported
$55,441
Higher estimate
$68,882

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 CSUSB 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.

CSUSB graduates’ reported earnings are $8,919 above that expectation, the 81st 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 CSUSB 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.
+$2,668
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$6,251
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$8,919

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

Which fields at CSUSB report the highest earnings?

Social Work carries an Azimuth national rank of #3 in its field and #2 in California, with 43 degrees awarded and median earnings of $69,201 four years after completion. Psychology, the second-largest program at 536 degrees awarded, holds a national rank of #157 and reports median earnings of $48,326.

Nursing is the highest-earning field, with a median of $109,499 and 117 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management, the largest program by degrees awarded at 686, shows a more moderate median of $56,361.

Azimuth ranks 22 bachelor's programs at California State University-San Bernardino. Social Work is ranked #3 nationally in its field and #2 in California, with 43 degrees awarded and median earnings of $69,201 four years after completion.

Nursing follows at #49 nationally and #24 in California, awarding 117 degrees and showing median earnings of $109,499. The university publishes earnings data for 29 programs.

Among the largest, Business Administration and Management awarded 686 degrees and its completers earned a median of $56,361 four years after graduating.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$109,499
Computer Engineering
$92,492
Computer Science
$74,845
Social Work
$69,201
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$66,202
Public Health
$65,961
Chemistry
$63,496
Physics
$62,004

Explore CSUSB program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings vary sharply by field. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $44,540, a typical outcome of $55,441, and an upside of $68,882.

The highest-earning program, Nursing, reaches $109,499, while among the largest programs Psychology sits at $48,326.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of California State University-San Bernardino who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $55,441. The earnings cohort includes 4,757 completers.

That median sits at the 35th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. It is $10,169 below the $65,610 figure for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $8,919 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the result at the 81st percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $44,540 on the downside to $68,882 on the upside, with $55,441 as the typical outcome. An estimated 30.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Graduates earn below the peer median but above what the model expects, so the earnings picture is mixed.

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.