US College Programs

Urban Studies (Bachelor's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in Urban Studies/Affairs

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California urban studies bachelor's program pays its graduates $46,826 in their first year, $3,831 more than the national median. UC Berkeley reports the highest first-year pay ($58,171), and CSUN the lowest median debt ($13,612).

Median first-year pay$46,826National $42,995
Median pay after 5 years$70,696National $61,189
Median federal debt$15,000National $19,458
Debt-to-earnings37%National 47%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

Debt and first-year pay at every California urban studies 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 the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. UC Berkeley$58,171
  2. San Francisco State$50,008
  3. CSUN$46,826
  4. UC San Diego$37,074
  5. UC Irvine$34,385

Lowest median debt

  1. CSUN$13,612
  2. UC Berkeley$14,444
  3. UC Irvine$15,000
  4. UC San Diego$17,500
  5. San Francisco State$18,600

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. UC Berkeley25%
  2. CSUN29%
  3. San Francisco State37%
  4. UC Irvine44%
  5. UC San Diego47%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to urban studies, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Urban and Regional Planners

$109,610

Median pay in California. 7,460 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $77,430Top 10%: $166,950

Sociologists

$125,770

Median pay in California. 590 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $85,030Top 10%: $161,710

Common questions

UC Berkeley in Berkeley reports the highest median first-year pay, $58,171. Its median federal debt is $14,444.

Related pages

Urban Studies (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked19 programs by pay and debt

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • 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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the urban studies bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024