Cal State San Marcos Physics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Physics
- Public university
- San Marcos, CA
- About 16 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Cal State San Marcos physics graduates earn more than graduates of most physics programs nationally, $56,018 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,069 in federal loans, less than at 78% of physics programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying physics 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 physics bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Cal State San Marcos graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California physics 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 44% 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 $202 a month, or 4.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
89% of graduates (17 of 19) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Diego area are about 12% above the national average, so a $56,018 salary here buys what about $50,067 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 physics, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
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.
Natural Sciences Managers
$210,230Median pay in California. 14,950 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Physicists
$207,490Median pay in California. 5,930 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
About Cal State San Marcos
Physics ranks 6th of 35 bachelor's programs at Cal State San Marcos by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($103,799), Accounting ($63,366), and Computer Systems Analysis ($61,054).
Other physics bachelor's programs near San Marcos
Common questions
The median graduate earns $56,018 one year after graduating and $80,480 five years after. The median across physics bachelor's programs in California is $50,219.
The median federal loan balance is $19,069, which ranks 7th lowest of 10 physics bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $202 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 49%.
Most do. 89% (17 of 19) 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 physics 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