Cal State San Marcos Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
- Public university
- San Marcos, CA
- About 117 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Cal State San Marcos teacher education graduates earn less than graduates of most teacher education programs nationally, $29,055 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $15,150 in federal loans, less than at 95% of teacher education programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the California median of $30,799.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every California teacher education 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.
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 $161 a month, or 6.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
96% of graduates (73 of 76) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Diego area are about 12% above the national average, so a $29,055 salary here buys what about $25,968 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 teacher education, 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.
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
$47,400Median pay in California. 55,700 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
About Cal State San Marcos
Teacher Education ranks 31st 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 teacher education bachelor's programs near San Marcos
Common questions
The median graduate earns $29,055 one year after graduating. The median across teacher education bachelor's programs in California is $30,799.
The median federal loan balance is $15,150, which ranks 9th lowest of 18 teacher education bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $161 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 52% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 61%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 96% (73 of 76) 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 teacher education 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