Public · University

California State University-Bakersfield

Bakersfield, California · Large city

#5 best value in California
93.8%
Admit rate
$5,652
Avg net price
50%
Graduation rate
$59,009
Median earnings

California State University-Bakersfield is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Bakersfield, California (large city setting), enrolling 8,577 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

PublicMidsize · 8,577 undergradsLarge cityAccessible · 94% admitNCAA Division I without football

About Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. Upon Spanish arrival, present-day Bakersfield was inhabited by the Yowlumne, a Yokuts people. Yowlumne accounts indicate that the village of Woilu was situated in the bounds of the present city. Bakersfield appears in the 1997 role-playing video game Fallout under the name of Necropolis. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To the ocean
70 miles
Nearest airport
6 miles to Meadows Field (BFL)

How California State University-Bakersfield compares

Selectivity93.8%

More selective than 15% · #86 most selective of 107 in California

Graduation rate50%

Higher than 39% · #94 of 122 in California

First-year retention79%

Higher than 59%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$59,009

Higher than 65% · #86 of 130 in California

Average net price$5,652

Cheaper than 98% · #5 cheapest of 118 in California

Median debt at graduation$16,600

Lower than 88%

Student–faculty ratio20 : 1

Lower than 10%

Undergraduate enrollment8,577

Larger than 87%

Percentiles compare California State University-Bakersfield with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

10,131students
  • Undergraduate8,57785%
  • Graduate1,55415%

Undergraduates by gender

8,577undergrads
  • Women5,51264%
  • Men3,06536%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White12%
  • Black4.2%
  • Hispanic70%
  • Asian6.5%
  • Other or multiracial7.6%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
8,577
Graduate enrollment
1,554
Student–faculty ratio
20 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
61%
First-generation students
58%
Students over 25
24%
Median family income
$27,270
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$104,517
Endowment
$42,735,229

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 1,204 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From California97%
  • Other U.S. states1.7%
  • International1.7%

Most first-years stay in state — California State University-Bakersfield draws overwhelmingly from California.

2% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
93.8%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$8,090
Out-of-state tuition
$20,690
Room & board
$15,076
Books & supplies
$954
Total cost of attendance
$19,522
Average net price
$5,652

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
50%
Graduated on time (4 years)
29%
First-year retention
79%
Transferred to another college
3%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$44,282
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$59,009
Median debt at graduation
$16,600
Students with federal loans
23%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
49%

About 20% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
29%
Low-income (Pell)
12%
First-generation
13%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
500
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
6%
Housing charge (year)
$9,000
Meal plan (year)
$4,800
Application fee
$70
Athletics
NCAA Division I without football
Varsity athletes
380 (155 men · 225 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (11)

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)78
Soccer67
Swimming and Diving (combined)45
Baseball40
Basketball29
Softball28
Wrestling27
Track and Field (Outdoor)20
Beach Volleyball20
Volleyball17
Golf9

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.6 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
5
Property offenses (2022–2024)
13

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (10,419 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

6.0reported offenses a year
1.7 violent a year4.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
3.0
Burglary
1.3
Fondling
1.0
Rape
0.7

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$3,536
$30–48k
$3,817
$48–75k
$5,835
$75–110k
$9,480
$110k+
$16,069

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$26,913

$5,835/year × about 4.6 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

67%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$6,625
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 67% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $6,625. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 1,080 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$59,009
Typical debt at graduation
$16,600
Debt vs. one year's pay
28%
Out-earn a HS grad
64%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$54,118
Men
$66,184

Men out-earn women by $12,066 (22%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
97°F
Winter low
38°F
Annual rain
6.7″
Annual snow
0.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°110°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.00.71.3JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Bakersfield 5 NW, CA US station (5.6 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to California State University-Bakersfield

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare California State University-Bakersfield side by side →

Colleges near California State University-Bakersfield

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.