California State University Chico campus

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CSU Salaries

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  • 4 Year
  • Chico, CA
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#16 Best Public Universities in California
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Salaries by Major

Salaries by Major at California State University Chico

This page shows median first-year earnings for CSU graduates by major, based on federal College Scorecard data. Six years after enrolling, former students who are working and no longer in school report average earnings of $39,400 per year; after ten years, average earnings are $52,400. See post-graduation earnings for full trends over time.

Below, majors are ranked by median first-year earnings.

The highest-paying undergraduate degree is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, with median first-year earnings of $93,500 , followed by Construction Management at $78,300 , and Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians at $70,900 .

Among graduate and professional degree programs, the highest-paying program is Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree), with median first-year earnings of $64,900 , followed by Social Work (Master's Degree) at $50,000 , and Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) at $48,400 .

First-year earnings data come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and reflect IRS-reported income for California State University Chico graduates who received federal grants or loans. Some programs are omitted for privacy.

Median first-year earnings for California State University Chico graduates ranked by degree type and major
Major Earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) $93,500
Construction Management (Bachelor’s Degree) $78,300
Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor’s Degree) $70,900
Computer Science (Bachelor’s Degree) $69,500
Civil Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $64,900
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degree) $64,900
Engineering, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) $64,500
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $61,700
Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $55,400
Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor’s Degree) $51,900
Social Work (Master's Degree) $50,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) $48,400
Psychology (Master's Degree) $46,600
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $46,400
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) $45,300
Agricultural Business and Management (Bachelor’s Degree) $44,600
Plant Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $42,700
Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) $40,300
Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Master's Degree) $38,700
Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $35,300
Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $33,800
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $31,300
Social Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $30,200
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $30,000
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) $29,700
Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor’s Degree) $29,700
Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) $29,100
Journalism (Bachelor’s Degree) $28,800
Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,800
Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,400
Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,000
History (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,000
Social Work (Bachelor’s Degree) $26,700
Animal Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $26,400
Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) $26,400
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $26,300
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,800
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $24,600
Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) $22,600
Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) $22,300
International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $22,000
Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) $21,800
Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) $20,000
Area Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $19,700
Music (Bachelor’s Degree) $19,500
English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) $19,200

Other Colleges to Consider

Students considering California State University Chico often consider these colleges

Data source: NCES / IPEDS https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110538.

First-year earnings by major: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Last updated: August 2026