More selective than 18% of California colleges we cover.
College Scorecard, Fall 2024 entering class
Average after grants for all families receiving federal aid. Pick your income above.
Sticker price $20,485. College Scorecard.
Higher than 40% of California colleges we cover and 56% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median 54%.
Within 6 years · College Scorecard
Higher than 37% of California colleges we cover and 67% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median $53,263.
Median, 10 years after starting · College Scorecard
CSUN acceptance rate & admissions
Of 29,789 applicants, California State University-Northridge admitted 27,748 and 5,545 enrolled (IPEDS, Fall 2023 entering class).
IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class
Test scores: College Scorecard, Fall 2024. Other figures: College Scorecard; IPEDS
CSUN tuition, cost & net price
What families actually pay per year, by income
Average net price after grants and scholarships for California residents who receive federal aid. Tap your income band.
College Scorecard, latest reported year (in-state, federal aid recipients)
Sticker price (before aid)
IPEDS 2023-24 cost items; total from College Scorecard
College Scorecard; Urban Institute Education Data Portal
State aid: California residents who meet income, asset and GPA standards may receive a Cal Grant (California Student Aid Commission); apply with the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application. At University of California and California State University campuses, the Middle Class Scholarship can also help families with income and assets up to $250,000 (2026-27, dependent students). Not included in the prices above. California Student Aid Commission
CSUN majors, earnings & careers
California State University-Northridge offers 75 bachelor's majors across 10 areas. Earnings below are for this school's graduates of each major, four years after finishing.
- Humanities & Languages · 12
- Science & Math · 12
- Social Sciences & Public Service · 12
- Engineering · 10
- Business & Finance · 8
- Health & Medicine · 8
- Arts & Design · 5
- Communications & Media · 3
- Technology & Computing · 3
- Education · 2
Highest-earning majors at CSUN
| Major | Earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing | $116,613 | $20,000 |
| Allied Health (Imaging / Therapy / Tech) | $105,747 | $20,250 |
| Electrical Engineering | $104,065 | $17,440 |
| Computer Science | $101,348 | $18,483 |
| Computer Engineering | $101,021 | $19,548 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $99,216 | $18,000 |
| Civil Engineering | $97,123 | $18,732 |
| Accounting | $92,329 | $15,810 |
Quick list of all 75 majors
- Accounting$92,329
- Allied Health (Imaging / Therapy / Tech)$105,747
- Anthropology$43,192
- Applied Mathematics—
- Area Studies$53,077
- Biochemistry—
- Biology$59,100
- Biotechnology$73,542
- Broadcasting / Digital Media$49,359
- Business Administration$65,760
- Cell / Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences$55,096
- Chemistry$79,878
- Civil Engineering$97,123
- Communications$57,138
- Computer and Information Sciences$91,131
- Computer Engineering$101,021
- Computer Science$101,348
- Construction Engineering Technology / Technician$89,804
- Criminal Justice$54,169
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology$59,940
- Economics$72,890
- Education (Elementary / Secondary)—
- Education (Subject Teaching)—
- Electrical Engineering$104,065
- Engineering—
- Engineering-Related Fields—
- English$47,660
- Ethnic / Gender Studies$50,708
- Family and Consumer Sciences / Human Sciences$55,327
- Film and Photography$46,913
- Finance$74,656
- Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other—
- Geography$69,323
- Geology / Earth Science—
- Graphic / Interior / Fashion Design$59,676
- Health Administration$60,740
- Health Sciences—
- History$45,821
- Hospitality Management$50,644
- Human Development and Family Studies$45,088
- Industrial Engineering—
- Information Science / Studies—
- Journalism$53,351
- Kinesiology / Exercise Science$50,663
- Liberal Arts / General Studies$52,772
- Linguistics$32,939
- Management Information Systems$88,999
- Manufacturing Engineering—
- Marketing$64,373
- Mathematics$63,077
- Mechanical Engineering$99,216
- Microbiological Sciences and Immunology—
- Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other—
- Music$40,669
- Nursing$116,613
- Nutrition Science—
- Operations Research$74,344
- Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies—
- Philosophy$48,566
- Physics—
- Political Science$57,527
- Psychology$49,792
- Public Administration$85,789
- Public Health$55,989
- Real Estate$57,174
- Religious Studies$51,235
- Social Work$52,988
- Sociology$54,500
- Spanish / French / Romance Languages$43,345
- Speech-Language Pathology / Communication Disorders$65,188
- Statistics—
- Studio Art$42,904
- Theatre$43,240
- Urban Studies / Affairs$72,148
- Writing—
— means too few graduates to report earnings.
College Scorecard field of study, latest release
All majors by area with earnings 1 and 4 years out, and debt →Business Administration → Management analyst
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 10.1% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Communications → Public relations specialist
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 1.8% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Living in Los Angeles
Overall prices in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area.
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
2 bedrooms $2,964. Housing costs 70% above the U.S. average.
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027
January and July average highs. 15 inches of rain a year, almost no snow.
NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020
Highest: tornado (relatively high); wildfire (very high); river flooding (very high); coastal flooding (relatively high); heat wave (relatively high).
FEMA National Risk Index, Los Angeles County
Campus & students
IPEDS fall enrollment; Carnegie Classification; EADA via Urban Institute
Los Angeles County at a glance
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2024
Compare CSUN with similar schools
Similar public colleges in California by selectivity, graduation rate and size. Tap “Why?” to see where the price difference comes from.
| School | Acceptance | You'd pay | Graduation | Earnings, 10 yrs | Price gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University-Northridge | 93% | $7,021 | 57% | $59,115 | This school |
| California State University-Sacramento | 94% | $9,338 | 56% | $64,876 | |
| California State University-Fresno | 95% | $7,000 | 57% | $61,244 | |
| California State University-Fullerton | 91% | $6,555 | 70% | $62,951 | |
| California State University-Los Angeles | 91% | $3,967 | 53% | $59,211 |
College Scorecard, latest reported year. “You'd pay” follows your residency and income choices above.
Why the price is different
California State University-Northridge would cost you $2,317 less per year than California State University-Sacramento, on average.
- Lower sticker price at California State University-Northridge, mostly from lower housing & meal costs (−$3,630).
- California State University-Sacramento gives aided families $143 more in grants, on average.
| Per year, California resident | CSUN | California State University-Sacramento | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition & fees | $7,458 | $8,018 | −$560 |
| Books & supplies | $1,284 | $1,112 | +$172 |
| Housing & meals | $12,648 | $16,278 | −$3,630 |
| Personal & travel | $3,244 | $4,426 | −$1,182 |
| Living-at-home adjustment | −$4,149 | −$6,889 | +$2,740 |
| Sticker price | $20,485 | $22,945 | −$2,460 |
| Average grants | −$13,464 | −$13,607 | +$143 |
| You pay | $7,021 | $9,338 | −$2,317 |
“+” means CSUN costs more; “−” means it costs less. Grants are the sticker price minus the net price. Cost items: IPEDS, on-campus budget. Sticker and net price: College Scorecard, latest reported year; the adjustment reconciles the two. Net price is an average for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid, not a quote.
Common questions about CSUN
What is the CSUN acceptance rate?
California State University-Northridge accepts 93% of applicants (College Scorecard). In the latest IPEDS admissions year, 27,748 of 29,789 applicants were admitted.
How much does California State University-Northridge cost per year?
The sticker price (cost of attendance) is $20,485 a year for in-state students. After grants and scholarships, students receiving federal aid pay $7,021 a year on average; families earning $0–30k pay $4,905 and families earning $110k+ pay $18,040.
How much do CSUN graduates earn?
Former California State University-Northridge students earn a median $59,115 ten years after starting college, compared with a U.S. median of $53,263 across the colleges we cover.
What is the CSUN graduation rate?
57% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 73% return for their second year.
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Sources on this page: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS; U.S. Census Bureau (ACS); Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections); Bureau of Economic Analysis; HUD; NOAA; FEMA; Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By); Wikidata. “Colleges we cover” means colleges awarding bachelor's degrees to at least 100 undergraduates. Averages are not quotes; confirm costs with the school. How we score
Data: download this school's data (JSON) · Markdown · all datasets
Cite this: “California State University-Northridge: cost, admissions and outcomes,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/colleges/california-state-university-northridge (College Scorecard and IPEDS data).