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California State University-Northridge Mechanical Engineering: earnings, debt & careers

Mechanical Engineering graduates of California State University-Northridge earn a median $99,216 four years after graduating ($71,359 after one year), with median federal loan debt of $18,000. That is $8,026 above the U.S. median for Mechanical Engineering graduates ($91,190 across 316 colleges), and ranks 14th of 27 California colleges.

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Earnings, 4 years after graduating
$99,216

U.S. median for this major: $91,190.

College Scorecard field of study

Earnings, 1 year after
$71,359

Median for graduates who received federal aid.

College Scorecard field of study

Median debt at graduation
$18,000

About 18% of median earnings 4 years out. U.S. median $24,876.

College Scorecard field of study (federal loans)

What your family pays
$7,021 /yr

Average after grants for all families receiving federal aid. Pick your income above.

Sticker price $20,485. College Scorecard.

Mechanical Engineering at California colleges

Every California college we cover that reports Mechanical Engineering graduate earnings, highest first. Net price is the school-wide average after grants.

RankCollegeEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debtAvg. net priceGraduation
1California State University Maritime Academy$126,395$19,690$20,55560%
2Santa Clara University$122,111$19,500$50,06288%
3University of California-Berkeley$119,371$13,200$13,48193%
4Stanford University$117,072—$13,80792%
5University of California-Los Angeles$108,875$17,000$12,54893%
6California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$106,750$20,500$16,66586%
7California Baptist University$105,046$27,000$26,28562%
8University of Southern California$104,649$17,500$32,74092%
9University of California-Santa Barbara$104,336$15,908$16,10983%
10University of California-San Diego$104,229$20,000$12,47086%
11University of California-Davis$102,161$15,000$14,74186%
12San Francisco State University$102,104$22,047$12,27850%
13University of the Pacific$99,573$28,596$25,44769%
14California State University-Northridge$99,216$18,000$7,02157%
15California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$99,148$17,455$11,53168%
16University of California-Irvine$99,111$14,500$14,25187%
17San Diego State University$97,825$19,994$15,36476%
18Loyola Marymount University$96,226$21,000$48,38179%
19California State University-Long Beach$95,957$17,653$10,44069%
20University of California-Merced$95,040$18,500$11,98369%
21California State University-Sacramento$93,878$19,399$9,33856%
22University of California-Riverside$93,721$21,000$14,30476%
23California State University-Chico$93,555$24,354$14,48063%
24California State University-Los Angeles$93,028$13,000$3,96753%
25University of San Diego$91,848$26,093$30,36584%
26California State University-Fresno$88,002$17,533$7,00057%
27California State University-Fullerton$86,808$19,040$6,55570%

2 more California colleges offer Mechanical Engineering but have too few graduates to report earnings.

Careers for Mechanical Engineering graduates

Mechanical engineer

Los Angeles area$123,900
California$130,900
U.S.$104,110

Median annual wage, all workers. U.S. jobs +11.2% by 2035. Typical entry: bachelor's degree.

Cost Estimators

Los Angeles area$82,260
California$85,460
U.S.$78,740

Median annual wage, all workers. U.S. jobs -3.1% by 2035. Typical entry: bachelor's degree.

Architectural and Engineering Managers

Los Angeles area$190,900
California$210,280
U.S.$171,270

Median annual wage, all workers. U.S. jobs +5.5% by 2035. Typical entry: bachelor's degree.

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35. Careers from the federal major-to-occupation crosswalk.

What families pay at CSUN, by income

School-wide average after grants for students receiving federal aid. Tap your band.

College Scorecard

About CSUN

Related majors at CSUN

CSUN Mechanical Engineering questions

How much do CSUN Mechanical Engineering graduates earn?

Mechanical Engineering graduates of California State University-Northridge earn a median $99,216 four years after graduating and $71,359 one year after. The U.S. median for Mechanical Engineering graduates across 316 colleges is $91,190.

How much debt do CSUN Mechanical Engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan debt for Mechanical Engineering graduates of California State University-Northridge is $18,000, about 18% of their median earnings four years out. Nationally the median is $24,876.

Where does CSUN rank for Mechanical Engineering in California?

Of 27 California colleges reporting Mechanical Engineering graduate earnings, California State University-Northridge ranks 14th. The highest is California State University Maritime Academy at $126,395.

What jobs do Mechanical Engineering graduates get?

A common career is mechanical engineer, with a median wage of $123,900 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area and $104,110 nationally. Others include cost estimators and architectural and engineering managers.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (field of study: median earnings and federal loan debt of graduates who received federal aid); BLS. How we score
Data: JSON · Markdown · all datasets
Cite this: “California State University-Northridge Mechanical Engineering: earnings, debt and careers,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/colleges/california-state-university-northridge/majors/mechanical-engineering (College Scorecard and BLS data).