Cal Poly Pomona Aerospace Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering
- Public university
- Pomona, CA
- About 126 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Cal Poly Pomona aerospace engineering graduates earn more than graduates of most aerospace engineering programs nationally, $78,320 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,295 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,846. Two other California programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all aerospace engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Cal Poly Pomona graduates earn about the national figure but about $3,092 less than the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California aerospace engineering 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 24% 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 $5,919 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $279 a month, or 4.3% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
86% of graduates (126 of 146) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $78,320 salary here buys what about $68,964 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to aerospace engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$210,280Median pay in California. 29,630 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Aerospace Engineers
$157,620Median pay in California. 9,170 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Avionics Technicians
$92,480Median pay in California. 1,220 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians
$99,000Median pay in California. 1,560 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Cal Poly Pomona
Aerospace Engineering ranks 4th of 45 bachelor's programs at Cal Poly Pomona by first-year earnings. The top three are Construction Engineering Technology ($87,960), Electrical Engineering ($80,827), and Manufacturing Engineering ($79,549).
Other aerospace engineering bachelor's programs near Pomona
Common questions
The median graduate earns $78,320 one year after graduating and $97,066 five years after. The median across aerospace engineering bachelor's programs in California is $71,633.
The median federal loan balance is $26,295, which ranks 9th lowest of 9 aerospace engineering bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $279 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 34%. Compare the cost with other California programs before deciding.
Most do. 86% (126 of 146) 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 aerospace engineering 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