Cal State Monterey Bay Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
- Public university
- Seaside, CA
- About 250 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Cal State Monterey Bay liberal arts and general studies graduates earn less than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $30,413 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $13,750 in federal loans, less than at 97% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the California median of $30,619.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Cal State Monterey Bay graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California liberal arts and general studies 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 80% 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 $6,581 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 $146 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. Separately, 39 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $15,176.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
94% of graduates (207 of 220) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Salinas area are about 9% above the national average, so a $30,413 salary here buys what about $27,891 buys in a typical US city.
About Cal State Monterey Bay
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 11th of 17 bachelor's programs at Cal State Monterey Bay by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($117,088), Computer Science ($71,458), and Business Administration ($47,825).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $30,413 one year after graduating and $54,702 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in California is $30,619.
The median federal loan balance is $13,750, which ranks 4th lowest of 34 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $146 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 94% (207 of 220) 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 liberal arts and general studies 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