San Diego State Journalism (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Journalism
- Public university
- San Diego, CA
- About 167 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
San Diego State journalism graduates earn less than graduates of most journalism programs nationally, $30,269 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $14,998 in federal loans, less than at 95% of journalism programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the California median of $31,445.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all journalism bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every California journalism 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.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $159 a month, or 6.3% 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
77% of graduates (23 of 30) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Diego area are about 12% above the national average, so a $30,269 salary here buys what about $27,053 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 journalism, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Editors
$98,030Median pay in California. 14,830 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Photographers
$47,840Median pay in California. 7,980 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Writers and Authors
$86,480Median pay in California. 8,390 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists
$62,200Median pay nationwide. 4,140 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About San Diego State
Journalism ranks 41st of 59 bachelor's programs at San Diego State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($100,221), Construction Engineering Technology ($81,608), and Computer Engineering ($76,812).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $30,269 one year after graduating. The median across journalism bachelor's programs in California is $31,445.
The median federal loan balance is $14,998, which ranks the lowest of 13 journalism bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $159 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 50% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 77% (23 of 30) 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 journalism 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