How much debt do USC mechanical engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $17,500, which ranks 8th lowest of 26 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $186 a month over 10 years.

Is a mechanical engineering degree from USC worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 21% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.

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

Q: Do USC mechanical engineering graduates stay in California?

Most do. 64% (38 of 59) were working in California one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Private nonprofit university
Los Angeles, CA
About 101 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

USC mechanical engineering graduates earn more than graduates of most mechanical engineering programs nationally, $83,356 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $17,500 in federal loans, less than at 91% of mechanical engineering programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying mechanical engineering degrees in California.

First-year earnings$83,35697th percentile of 302 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$107,59129% more than year one

Median federal debt$17,5008th lowest of 26 California programs

Debt-to-earnings21%California median 27%, 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 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	USC	California	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$83,356	$72,436	$70,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$107,591	$99,752	$91,554
Median federal debt at graduation	$17,500	$19,220	$24,730
Debt as share of first-year pay	21%	27%	35%
Programs compared		26	302

Five years out, USC graduates earn more than the national figure and about $7,839 more than the California median.

Debt and first-year pay at every California mechanical 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 29% between the first and fifth year.

USC grads, year 1$83,356

USC grads, year 5$107,591

All California mechanical engineering grads, year 5$99,752

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$84,609Median debt $15,500

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$87,169Median debt $17,750

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $186 a month, or 2.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (83 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. Separately, 25 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $40,960.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

64% of graduates (38 of 59) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $83,356 salary here buys what about $73,399 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 mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Mechanical Engineers

$130,900

Median pay in California. 30,530 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $82,070Top 10%: $203,620

Cost Estimators

$85,460

Median pay in California. 26,020 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $51,750Top 10%: $150,790

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

Aerospace Engineers

$157,620

Median pay in California. 9,170 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $104,370Top 10%: $220,670

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

Mechanical Engineering ranks 7th 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 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs near Los Angeles

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
USCLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit		$83,356	$17,500
Cal State LALos Angeles, CA · public	7 mi	$55,405	$13,000
Loyola Marymount UniversityLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit	8 mi	$60,798	$21,000
UCLALos Angeles, CA · public	10 mi	$79,016	$17,000
Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	19 mi	$60,996	$17,653
CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	21 mi	$71,359	$18,000
Cal State FullertonFullerton, CA · public	25 mi	$65,252	$19,040
Cal Poly PomonaPomona, CA · public	27 mi	$75,040	$17,455
UC IrvineIrvine, CA · public	36 mi	$67,633	$14,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $83,356 one year after graduating and $107,591 five years after. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in California is $72,436.

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 mechanical 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

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in California, ranked26 programs by pay and debt Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked302 programs by pay and debt All USC programs, ranked43 programs by pay and debt