Fresno City College Psychology (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Associate's in Psychology, General
  • Public college
  • Fresno, CA
  • About 185 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Fresno City College psychology graduates earn about what psychology graduates earn nationally, $27,421 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $7,802 in federal loans, close to the national median of $11,099. It is one of the higher-paying psychology degrees in California.

First-year earnings$27,42164th percentile of 33 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$34,63826% more than year one
Median federal debt$7,8026th lowest of 9 California programs
Debt-to-earnings28%California median 29%, national 36%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all psychology associate's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Fresno City College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $3,093 less than the California median.

Debt and first-year pay at every California psychology program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Fresno City CollegeOther California programs

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 26% between the first and fifth year.

Fresno City College grads, year 1$27,421
Fresno City College grads, year 5$34,638
All California psychology grads, year 5$37,731

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 $83 a month, or 3.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

96% of graduates (25 of 26) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Fresno area are about 2% above the national average, so a $27,421 salary here buys what about $26,842 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 psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

$116,000

Median pay in California. 12,840 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $62,900Top 10%: $188,050

Social Science Research Assistants

$60,250

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $38,060Top 10%: $117,070

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

$193,950

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

About Fresno City College

Psychology ranks 5th of 6 associate's programs at Fresno City College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($91,961), Human Development and Family Studies ($30,519), and Criminal Justice ($29,467).

Other psychology associate's programs near Fresno

Common questions

The median graduate earns $27,421 one year after graduating and $34,638 five years after. The median across psychology associate's programs in California is $25,343.

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 psychology program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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