Chico State Social Sciences (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Social Sciences, General
- Public university
- Chico, CA
- About 52 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Chico State social sciences graduates earn about what social sciences graduates earn nationally, $36,382 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,500 in federal loans, less than at 89% of social sciences programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying social sciences 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 social sciences bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Chico State graduates earn about the national figure but about $2,179 less than the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California social sciences 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 39% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $175 a month, or 5.8% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (40 of 48) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Chico area are about 1% above the national average, so a $36,382 salary here buys what about $35,952 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 social sciences, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
$99,650Median pay in California. 155,160 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
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.
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$98,950Median pay in California. 37,300 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$60,250Median pay in California. 5,300 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Chico State
Social Sciences ranks 28th of 51 bachelor's programs at Chico State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($113,181), Construction Management ($89,075), and Construction Engineering Technology ($88,648).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $36,382 one year after graduating and $50,545 five years after. The median across social sciences bachelor's programs in California is $34,775.
The median federal loan balance is $16,500, which ranks 5th lowest of 8 social sciences bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $175 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay.
Most do. 83% (40 of 48) 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 social sciences 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