Which Chico State major has the lowest debt?

Agricultural Business graduates leave with a median of $11,250 in federal loans, the lowest among 51 Chico State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Chico State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $8,472 a year, and $21,072 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $14,480 a year.

How many Chico State programs report graduate pay?

51 bachelor's programs at Chico State report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Chico State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

California State University-Chico
Public university
Chico, CA
13,631 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

51 Chico State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Nursing pays the most in the first year ($113,181), and Fine and Studio Arts the least ($22,628). The median program pays $36,992.

In-state tuition and fees$8,472Per year. Out-of-state $21,072

Average net price after aid$14,480Per year

Graduation rate63%Within 6 years

Admission rate93%Of applicants

All 51 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across California. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
1	NursingAbout 113 graduates a year	$113,181	$120,599	$20,125	9th of 35
2	Construction ManagementGraduates a year not reported	$89,075	$116,720	$19,314	3rd of 3
3	Construction Engineering TechnologyAbout 116 graduates a year	$88,648	Not reported	$21,104	2nd of 6
4	Computer ScienceAbout 66 graduates a year	$81,021	$125,103	$20,000	16th of 39
5	Electrical Engineering TechnologyGraduates a year not reported	$77,965	$97,724	$19,802	1st of 3
6	Other EngineeringAbout 30 graduates a year	$74,204	$95,485	$23,000	1st of 3
7	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 88 graduates a year	$73,297	$102,703	$24,354	12th of 26
8	Civil EngineeringAbout 58 graduates a year	$72,350	$101,629	$21,583	15th of 20
9	Engineering-Related FieldsAbout 15 graduates a year	$69,042	$92,561	$16,601	3rd of 4
10	AccountingGraduates a year not reported	$60,606	$80,392	$17,250	17th of 23
11	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 78 graduates a year	$49,967	$90,685	$20,886	13th of 18
12	MicrobiologyAbout 16 graduates a year	$49,068	$64,331	$24,572	4th of 13
13	Agricultural BusinessAbout 69 graduates a year	$47,937	$67,962	$11,250	3rd of 4
14	Business AdministrationAbout 503 graduates a year	$46,145	$79,303	$18,000	40th of 57
15	Public HealthAbout 122 graduates a year	$45,339	Not reported	$20,750	5th of 16
16	Plant ScienceAbout 22 graduates a year	$43,944	$70,548	$15,000	5th of 6
17	Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$42,886	Not reported	$23,000	9th of 19
18	Political ScienceAbout 67 graduates a year	$41,893	$62,565	$20,423	9th of 44
19	GeographyAbout 17 graduates a year	$40,380	$72,207	$19,250	3rd of 13
20	Health SciencesAbout 6 graduates a year	$40,057	$56,376	$19,573	7th of 13
21	International RelationsAbout 10 graduates a year	$39,060	$51,736	$15,095	5th of 12
22	CommunicationsAbout 94 graduates a year	$38,421	$59,510	$17,098	18th of 39
23	MathematicsAbout 36 graduates a year	$38,212	$62,551	$15,000	13th of 23
24	EconomicsAbout 27 graduates a year	$37,432	$73,084	$19,150	32nd of 35
25	BiologyAbout 89 graduates a year	$37,120	$61,481	$18,750	9th of 47
26	SociologyAbout 158 graduates a year	$36,992	$46,999	$16,049	12th of 42
27	Social WorkAbout 63 graduates a year	$36,840	$55,090	$17,000	12th of 16
28	Social SciencesAbout 52 graduates a year	$36,382	$50,545	$16,500	4th of 10
29	Criminal JusticeAbout 152 graduates a year	$36,045	$58,616	$16,331	10th of 20
30	JournalismAbout 21 graduates a year	$35,668	$56,247	$18,750	6th of 14
31	Parks and RecreationAbout 49 graduates a year	$33,920	$56,924	$18,179	5th of 9
32	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 29 graduates a year	$33,758	$58,420	$22,294	16th of 24
33	Animal ScienceAbout 98 graduates a year	$33,387	$56,684	$17,334	4th of 5
34	PsychologyAbout 313 graduates a year	$31,827	$52,482	$15,000	19th of 54
35	Foods and NutritionGraduates a year not reported	$31,673	$62,110	$19,312	1st of 1
36	HistoryAbout 47 graduates a year	$30,697	$46,221	$17,783	11th of 30
37	Human Development and Family StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$30,441	$46,310	$18,361	10th of 14
38	Communication Sciences and DisordersAbout 54 graduates a year	$29,297	$61,935	$19,222	3rd of 13
39	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 180 graduates a year	$28,236	$46,684	$21,315	15th of 31
40	AnthropologyAbout 45 graduates a year	$27,856	$48,693	$19,833	11th of 22
41	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 85 graduates a year	$27,573	$46,813	$19,047	22nd of 27
42	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 184 graduates a year	$27,196	$55,139	$17,500	24th of 34
43	EnglishAbout 56 graduates a year	$27,045	$49,955	$15,950	14th of 35
44	Physiology and PathologyGraduates a year not reported	$25,952	$59,339	$19,500	5th of 6
45	Multicultural and Diversity StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$25,525	Not reported	$17,000	2nd of 2
46	Nutrition ScienceAbout 34 graduates a year	$25,490	Not reported	$19,272	7th of 9
47	MusicAbout 44 graduates a year	$25,339	$39,537	$24,125	7th of 24
48	Subject-Area Teacher EducationGraduates a year not reported	$24,427	Not reported	$21,429	6th of 6
49	Area StudiesAbout 17 graduates a year	$23,149	$46,659	$16,375	7th of 8
50	Romance LanguagesAbout 13 graduates a year	$22,917	$55,893	$17,200	19th of 23
51	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 54 graduates a year	$22,628	$44,754	$14,990	13th of 29

Program names link to the program's own page, and California ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five California programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

2 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nursing$113,181
Construction Management$89,075
Construction Engineering Technology$88,648
Computer Science$81,021
Electrical Engineering Technology$77,965

Lowest median debt

Agricultural Business$11,250
Fine and Studio Arts$14,990
Plant Science$15,000
Mathematics$15,000
Psychology$15,000

Largest programs

Business AdministrationAbout 503 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 313 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 184 graduates a year
Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 180 graduates a year
SociologyAbout 158 graduates a year

Common questions

Nursing graduates earn a median of $113,181 in their first year, the most of 51 Chico State bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels