Research brief & institution hub

California State University-Stanislaus

CAMedium public institution · Overall rank #83 nationally

Data snapshot September 27, 2026Updated October 1, 2026

Affordability in the 97th percentile nationally

Who it’s a good fit for

California State University-Stanislaus is a public university in Turlock, California, where the degree mix is led by Psychology and Business. Affordability is among the highest we track, and mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the model attributes more of that to a remainder it does not explain than to the factors it measures. Return is above average, while the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools.

At the bottom of the income scale, aid recipients pay well below the published cost, and at the top they pay closer to it. Pell Grant recipients finish at a rate above the overall cohort, and access is well above average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

Stan State at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate^[1]: 98.1%
Six-year completion^[2]: 53.4%
Four-year earnings^[3]: $58,952

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income^[6]: $5,947
Median student debt^[4]: $13,540
Median Parent PLUS debt^[7]: $12,700

Stan State rankings: how Azimuth assesses value^[5]

California State University-Stanislaus enrolls 8,385 undergraduates as a public university in Turlock, California, and its composite standing sits near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (at the 94th percentile). California State University-Stanislaus admits 98.1% of those who apply; the median among comparable institutions is 85.9%.

Among first-time full-time students, 82.5% return for a second year; the peer median is 73.7%. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 53.4%; comparable institutions post a median of 49.1%.

Transfers make up an estimated 60.2% of new entrants, so most students entering the university have already started a degree elsewhere. Affordability leads the four (at the 97th percentile), while return trails the others (at the 61st percentile).

Access and mobility fall between them, both in the upper tier of nonprofit four-year institutions (at the 88th and 95th percentiles). The distance between the strongest and weakest is substantial, with the top three pillars grouped well above return.

Azimuth ranks California State University-Stanislaus #83 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions, with affordability as the strongest pillar in the 97th percentile and mobility close behind in the 95th percentile. The access pillar sits in the 88th percentile, while return is the weakest pillar in the 61st percentile—still above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

55.2% of undergraduates at California State University-Stanislaus receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access at this public university in Turlock, California. Azimuth ranks California State University-Stanislaus #176 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 61.2%, which is 7.8 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort. That gap points to an institution where students receiving federal need-based aid finish at a higher clip than their peers.

Azimuth ranks the university #73 for mobility. Graduates earn about $13,797 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the strong completion outcomes for Pell recipients.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Stan State rankings in context
Geography	Rank
National	#83
California	#24
West	#29

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility: National percentile: 95

Access & reach: National percentile: 88

Affordability: National percentile: 97

Return on investment: National percentile: 61

Top-ranked majors

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General#5
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing#10
Social Sciences, General#19

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Stan State briefing

Stan State cost & financial aid^[6]^[7]

California State University-Stanislaus charges $8,246 in tuition and fees for state residents and $20,846 for nonresidents, with published room and board at $13,126. The total published cost of attendance is $19,739 (an average across living arrangements).

After grants and scholarships, aid recipients pay an average of $6,067. Aid covers about 69% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, lowering the sticker price by $13,672 on average.

That average net price sits $8,001 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #38 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 97th percentile.

California State University-Stanislaus delivers some of the strongest affordability numbers among nonprofit four-year institutions. The published cost of attendance is $19,739, an average across living arrangements.

In-state tuition and fees are $8,246, and room and board is $13,126. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—is $3,938 for families earning under $30,000, $5,947 for families in the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $16,810 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,872. Azimuth ranks the university #38 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 69% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $13,672 against the sticker price. The across all aid recipients is $6,067, which sits below the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,001.

For California residents, the in-state tuition and fees figure is the one cited above; out-of-state students face $20,846. Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median federal student debt of $13,540, well below the peer median of $21,229 by $7,689.

About 50.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $154 a month if repaid over ten years.

For parents, the median Parent PLUS borrowing is $12,700.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$5,947

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Stan State

50.5% of federal aid recipients at California State University-Stanislaus use federal student loans. Among borrowers who complete a degree, the median federal debt at completion is $13,540.

That puts the university below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $7,689. Among parent borrowers, a separate population, the median Parent PLUS loan is $12,700.

Graduates of California State University-Stanislaus working and not enrolled four years after completion record median earnings of $58,952, a level in the 47th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. They earn about $13,797 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that outcome in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix at California State University-Stanislaus show a typical outcome of $58,952, a downside case of $47,668, and an upside case of $80,979. For borrowers, the median federal debt at completion, $13,540, falls below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $154.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $12,700. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $154.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt: $13,540
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $12,700

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly: $154/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $161/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

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.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS

Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Stan State briefing

Stan State career outcomes & earnings^[3]^[8]^[9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of California State University-Stanislaus who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $58,952, at the 47th percentile nationally. That is $1,651 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $13,797 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,236.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $10,561. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $128.

Azimuth places the university at the 61st percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided completers from California State University-Stanislaus who are working and not enrolled four years after finishing earn a median of $58,952. Those figures draw on a cohort of 2,650 completers.

That median lands at the 47th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,797 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome places the earnings gap at the 90th percentile. Earnings scenarios are estimates tied to the program mix, not observed outcomes for specific students.

The earnings scenarios run from $47,668 on the downside to $80,979 on the upside, with a typical outcome of $58,952. An estimated 32.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At California State University-Stanislaus, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $58,952 four years after completion, at the 47th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $57,301, and the university lands $1,651 above that figure.

Azimuth ranks the university #569 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,797 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the earnings-beyond-expectations gap at the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,236.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $10,561. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $128.

The program mix is weighted toward psychology, business and the social sciences, with nursing and health sciences producing the strongest earnings but a modest share of degrees. Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $47,668 and the upside scenario is $80,979.

An estimated 32.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios show a wide spread: from $47,668 on the downside to $80,979 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the top of the range, Nursing graduates earn $126,959 four years after completion, from 125 degrees awarded a year. Health Sciences follows at $80,630, with 51 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Psychology, reports $50,348 from 478 degrees awarded, so the highest-earning fields are not the ones producing the most graduates.

California State University-Stanislaus pairs modest earnings with a price that stays low across the income scale. The published cost of attendance is $19,739 (an average across living arrangements).

The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $6,067, which is $8,001 below the $14,068 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The lowest band averages $3,938, the middle band $5,947, and the highest band $16,810, a spread of $12,872 between the two ends.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $13,540 in federal student loans, $7,689 below the $21,229 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $154 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $12,700 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?

Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.: +$3,236
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.: +$10,561
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.: +$13,797

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

Read the full outcomes brief

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Stan State briefing

What are the largest majors at Stan State?^[12]

Three programs at California State University-Stanislaus carry Azimuth national ranks, and the contrast between the university's highest-earning fields and its largest programs is sharp. Nursing leads with a median of $126,959 four years after completion, on 125 degrees awarded.

Health Sciences follows at $80,630 with 51 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, Business Administration and Management reaches $63,677 and ranks #141 nationally in its field, while Psychology — the biggest by degrees awarded at 478 — shows a more moderate median of $50,348 and an Azimuth national rank of #113.

Criminal Justice ranks #112 nationally and #15 in California, with median earnings of $51,740 on 195 degrees awarded.

California State University-Stanislaus has 18 nationally ranked bachelor's programs and publishes earnings data for 23 programs. The largest program, Psychology, awarded 478 degrees and holds a national rank of #113 with median earnings of $50,348 four years after completion.

Business Administration and Management awarded 409 degrees, ranks #141 nationally, and its completers earn a median of $63,677. The highest-earning ranked program is Business Administration and Management, with median earnings of $63,677.

The bachelor's degrees at California State University-Stanislaus are concentrated in a few broad areas, with Psychology accounting for 18.7% of degrees awarded, Business for 16.0%, and Social Sciences for 11.6%. The university has 23 programs with published four-year earnings data, and 18 of those carry an Azimuth national rank.

The largest single program is Psychology, at 478 degrees awarded, followed by Business Administration and Management with 409 degrees awarded and Liberal Arts and General Studies with 246 degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is Nursing, where graduates earn a median of $126,959 four years after completion, from 125 degrees awarded a year.

Health Sciences is the second-highest-earning, with a median of $80,630 from 51 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, Business Administration and Management posts the strongest earnings at $63,677, and Azimuth ranks it #141 nationally and #32 in California within its field.

Psychology, the largest program, earns a median of $50,348 and ranks #24 in California within its field. The pattern is a university where the largest programs are not the highest-earning ones.

Psychology and Business Administration and Management award the most degrees, while the top earnings come from Nursing and Health Sciences, which together account for fewer degrees. 9.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, a modest share that aligns with the concentration in psychology, business, and the social sciences.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields

Psychology, General 478 degrees awarded: $50,348
Business Administration, Management and Operations 409 degrees awarded: $63,677
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 246 degrees awarded: $59,251
Criminal Justice and Corrections 195 degrees awarded: $51,740
Sociology 157 degrees awarded: $46,340
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 125 degrees awarded: $126,959

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Stan State briefing

How does Stan State serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth ranks California State University-Stanislaus #73 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the mobility pillar in the 95th percentile.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 53.4%, while Pell recipients complete at 61.2% — above the overall rate by 7.8 percentage points. Graduates earn about $13,797 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 90th percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the access pillar of California State University-Stanislaus in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 98.1% of applicants and enrolls 8,385 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 55.2% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 60.2% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Stan State briefing

What colleges are similar to Stan State?^[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Stan State.

Admissions peerCalifornia State University-Monterey Bay97.4% admitted

Comparison with Stan State
Measure	Stan State	California State University-Monterey Bay
Peer earnings · 4 years	$58,952	$62,324+$3,372 vs Stan State
Average annual net price	$6,067	$13,663+$7,596 vs Stan State · higher cost
Admission rate	98.1%	97.4%

Explore California State University-Monterey Bay →

Nearby alternativeCalifornia State University-FresnoNearby option · CA

Comparison with Stan State
Measure	Stan State	California State University-Fresno
Peer earnings · 4 years	$58,952	$59,992+$1,040 vs Stan State
Average annual net price	$6,067	$7,000+$933 vs Stan State · higher cost
Admission rate	98.1%	95.3%

Explore California State University-Fresno →

Higher-earnings alternativeCollege of Staten Island CUNY$65,495 earnings

Comparison with Stan State
Measure	Stan State	College of Staten Island CUNY
Peer earnings · 4 years	$58,952	$65,495+$6,543 vs Stan State
Average annual net price	$6,067	$5,579-$488 vs Stan State · lower cost
Admission rate	98.1%	92.3%

Explore College of Staten Island CUNY →

Lower-cost alternativeSan Diego Christian College$992 average net price

Comparison with Stan State
Measure	Stan State	San Diego Christian College
Peer earnings · 4 years	$58,952	$50,741-$8,211 vs Stan State
Average annual net price	$6,067	$992-$5,075 vs Stan State · lower cost
Admission rate	98.1%	30.8%

Similar profileCalifornia State University-BakersfieldMatched across several measures

Comparison with Stan State
Measure	Stan State	California State University-Bakersfield
Peer earnings · 4 years	$58,952	$59,109+$157 vs Stan State
Average annual net price	$6,067	$5,652-$415 vs Stan State · lower cost
Admission rate	98.1%	93.9%

Explore California State University-Bakersfield →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated September 27, 2026Governed hub narrative September 27, 2026Governed spoke corpus September 27, 2026

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.
Source fields: C150_4
Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.
Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.
Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN
National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.
Source fields: Azimuth rankings
College Azimuth · Ranking methodology
Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.
Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV
Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.
Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations
College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology
Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.
Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios
College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology
Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Source fields: Azimuth statistical model
College Azimuth · Value-added methodology
SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.
Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.
Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE
College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.
Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF
Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.
Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings