How much debt do USC civil engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $8,125, which ranks the lowest of 19 civil engineering bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $86 a month over 10 years.

Is a civil engineering degree from USC worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 10% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%.

USC Civil Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Civil Engineering
Private nonprofit university
Los Angeles, CA
About 28 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

USC civil engineering graduates earn more than graduates of most civil engineering programs nationally, $85,262 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $8,125 in federal loans, less than at more than 99% of civil engineering programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying civil engineering degrees in California.

First-year earnings$85,26299th percentile of 207 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$116,77937% more than year one

Median federal debt$8,125The lowest of 19 California programs

Debt-to-earnings10%California median 26%, national 35%

How it compares

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

	USC	California	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$85,262	$73,541	$69,582
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$116,779	$99,644	$85,897
Median federal debt at graduation	$8,125	$18,820	$24,500
Debt as share of first-year pay	10%	26%	35%
Programs compared		20	207

Five years out, USC graduates earn more than the national figure and about $17,135 more than the California median.

Debt and first-year pay at every California civil engineering program

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

USCOther 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 37% between the first and fifth year.

USC grads, year 1$85,262

USC grads, year 5$116,779

All California civil engineering grads, year 5$99,644

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 $86 a month, or 1.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (31 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	40–59%

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

Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $85,262 salary here buys what about $75,077 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 civil engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Civil Engineers

$122,500

Median pay in California. 55,180 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 22,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $77,980Top 10%: $175,940

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$210,280

Median pay in California. 29,630 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $137,900Top 10%: $296,130

Environmental Engineers

$130,410

Median pay in California. 4,550 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $79,790Top 10%: $170,790

Petroleum Engineers

$143,590

Median pay in California. 1,060 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $61,780Top 10%: $207,370

About USC

Tuition and fees	$72,097 / year
Average net price after aid	$32,740 / year
Admission rate	10%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	92%
Undergraduate students	20,443

Civil Engineering ranks 6th of 43 bachelor's programs at USC by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($137,284), Software and Media Applications ($103,071), and Real Estate ($98,763).

Other civil engineering bachelor's programs near Los Angeles

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
USCLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit		$85,262	$8,125
Cal State LALos Angeles, CA · public	7 mi	$73,178	$18,767
Loyola Marymount UniversityLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit	8 mi	$87,790	$27,000
UCLALos Angeles, CA · public	10 mi	$75,510	$19,444
Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	19 mi	$73,342	$16,437
CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	21 mi	$62,768	$18,732
Cal State FullertonFullerton, CA · public	25 mi	$72,606	$13,548
Cal Poly PomonaPomona, CA · public	27 mi	$75,758	$16,500
UC IrvineIrvine, CA · public	36 mi	$73,835	$19,700

Common questions

The median graduate earns $85,262 one year after graduating and $116,779 five years after. The median across civil engineering bachelor's programs in California is $73,541.

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 civil engineering 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

Civil Engineering bachelor's programs in California, ranked20 programs by pay and debt Civil Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked207 programs by pay and debt All USC programs, ranked43 programs by pay and debt