Cal Poly Humboldt Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Arcata, CA
- About 85 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Cal Poly Humboldt biology graduates earn about what biology graduates earn nationally, $32,760 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,200 in federal loans, less than at 83% of biology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying biology degrees in California.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Cal Poly Humboldt graduates earn less than the national figure and about $18,631 less than the California median. Several California programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every California biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 54% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned slightly more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $214 a month, or 7.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 22 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $19,492.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
85% of graduates (127 of 150) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of California outside metro areas are about the same as the national average.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to biology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$101,370Median pay in California. 99,230 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$136,990Median pay in California. 29,830 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Natural Sciences Managers
$210,230Median pay in California. 14,950 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Biological Technicians
$71,440Median pay in California. 9,210 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Cal Poly Humboldt
Biology ranks 12th of 32 bachelor's programs at Cal Poly Humboldt by first-year earnings. The top three are Environmental Engineering ($55,589), Forestry ($52,810), and Other Interdisciplinary Studies ($45,490).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,760 one year after graduating and $50,531 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in California is $33,486.
The median federal loan balance is $20,200, which ranks 27th lowest of 47 biology bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $214 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 62% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay.
Most do. 85% (127 of 150) were working in California one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the biology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024