How much debt do USC electrical engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $20,500, which ranks 15th lowest of 19 electrical engineering bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $217 a month over 10 years.

Is a electrical engineering degree from USC worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 23% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 32%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.

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

Q: Do USC electrical engineering graduates stay in California?

Most do. 72% (21 of 29) were working in California one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
Private nonprofit university
Los Angeles, CA
About 6 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

USC electrical engineering graduates earn more than graduates of most electrical engineering programs nationally, $89,684 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,500 in federal loans, less than at 77% of electrical engineering programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying electrical engineering degrees in California.

First-year earnings$89,68495th percentile of 247 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$123,21537% more than year one

Median federal debt$20,50015th lowest of 19 California programs

Debt-to-earnings23%California median 24%, national 32%

How it compares

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

	USC	California	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$89,684	$78,247	$77,928
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$123,215	$106,684	$99,155
Median federal debt at graduation	$20,500	$18,906	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	23%	24%	32%
Programs compared		21	247

Five years out, USC graduates earn more than the national figure and about $16,531 more than the California median.

Debt and first-year pay at every California electrical 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$89,684

USC grads, year 5$123,215

All California electrical engineering grads, year 5$106,684

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 $217 a month, or 2.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (63 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–39%
Paying down the balance	40–59%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

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

72% of graduates (21 of 29) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $89,684 salary here buys what about $78,971 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 electrical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

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

Electrical Engineers

$144,040

Median pay in California. 24,230 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $81,840Top 10%: $217,760

Electronics Engineers, Except Computer

$160,520

Median pay in California. 20,830 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $97,140Top 10%: $225,400

Computer Hardware Engineers

$185,180

Median pay in California. 19,820 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $126,590Top 10%: $281,210

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

Electrical Engineering ranks 4th 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 electrical engineering bachelor's programs near Los Angeles

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
USCLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit		$89,684	$20,500
Cal State LALos Angeles, CA · public	7 mi	$63,981	$14,676
UCLALos Angeles, CA · public	10 mi	$85,369	$17,877
Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	19 mi	$77,278	$19,750
CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	21 mi	$75,207	$17,440
Southern California Institute of TechnologyAnaheim, CA · private for-profit	23 mi	$59,259	$35,989
Cal State FullertonFullerton, CA · public	25 mi	$63,468	$15,054
Cal Poly PomonaPomona, CA · public	27 mi	$80,827	$18,812
UC IrvineIrvine, CA · public	36 mi	$80,412	$19,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $89,684 one year after graduating and $123,215 five years after. The median across electrical engineering bachelor's programs in California is $78,247.

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 electrical 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

Electrical Engineering bachelor's programs in California, ranked21 programs by pay and debt Electrical Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked247 programs by pay and debt All USC programs, ranked43 programs by pay and debt