Cal Poly Pomona Animal Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Animal Sciences
- Public university
- Pomona, CA
- About 149 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Cal Poly Pomona animal science graduates earn more than graduates of most animal science programs nationally, $37,349 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $15,550 in federal loans, less than at 95% of animal science programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying animal science 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 animal science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Cal Poly Pomona graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California animal science 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 50% 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 more in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed less. 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 $165 a month, or 5.3% 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
96% of graduates (114 of 119) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $37,349 salary here buys what about $32,887 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 animal science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers
$56,280Median pay in California. 10,450 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Agricultural Technicians
$60,320Median pay in California. 2,420 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Farm and Home Management Educators
$98,770Median pay in California. 40 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers
$109,140Median pay in California. 1,650 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 70,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
About Cal Poly Pomona
Animal Science ranks 28th 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).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $37,349 one year after graduating and $56,089 five years after. The median across animal science bachelor's programs in California is $33,879.
The median federal loan balance is $15,550, which ranks 2nd lowest of 5 animal science bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $165 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 42% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.
Most do. 96% (114 of 119) 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 animal science 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