Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $64,909 ten years after enrolling, more than at 78% of colleges; 82% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 1.9 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$15K
According to San Diego State University's most recent Common Data Set, 31% of its Class of 2025 graduates (4,450 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $19,993 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
83 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 11 more are enrolled at another college. (8,987 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
66 of 100 finish within 4 years, 81 within 6, and 83 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 66% | 81% | 83% |
| Started in college here | 52% | 77% | 79% |
| Transferred in | 85% | 88% | 88% |
Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Pell Grant recipients: 72%, 6 points below students with no need-based federal aid (78%). First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.
- Pell Grant recipients1,399 students
72% · 6 points below students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant696 students
77% · 1 point below students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan3,551 students
78% · comparison group
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White2,152 students
79% · 3 points above all students
- Asian819 students
83% · 6 points above all students
- Hispanic/Latino1,540 students
72% · 4 points below all students
- Black229 students
69% · 7 points below all students
- Two or more races412 students
76% · the same as all students
- International343 students
68% · 8 points below all students
- American Indian/Alaska Native17 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander13 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus San Diego State University. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;San Diego State University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;San Diego State University Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)