Public · University
California State University-Dominguez Hills
Carson, California · Small city
- 93.3%
- Admit rate
- $8,615
- Avg net price
- 43%
- Graduation rate
- $57,162
- Median earnings
California State University-Dominguez Hills is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Carson, California (small city setting), enrolling 12,538 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).
About Carson, California
Carson is a city in the South Bay and Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles (23 km) away from Los Angeles International Airport. For thousands of years before the arrival of the first Europeans, Tongva Indians lived in the area. Carson lies on part of the Spanish land grant Rancho San Pedro, from the King of Spain in 1784. County of Los Angeles Public Library operates the Carson Regional Library and the Dr. Martin Luther King Library. Both libraries are in Carson. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 13 miles to Los Angeles, CA
- To the ocean
- 7 miles
- Nearest airport
- 6 miles to Jack Northrop Field Hawthorne (HHR)
How California State University-Dominguez Hills compares
More selective than 16% · #81 most selective of 107 in California
Higher than 27% · #101 of 122 in California
Higher than 41%
Higher than 60% · #89 of 130 in California
Cheaper than 94% · #11 cheapest of 118 in California
Lower than 93%
Lower than 8%
Larger than 91%
Percentiles compare California State University-Dominguez Hills with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.
California State University-Dominguez Hills campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate12,53883%
- Graduate2,55017%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women8,24166%
- Men4,29734%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White4.0%
- Black13%
- Hispanic71%
- Asian6.9%
- Other or multiracial5.7%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 12,538
- Graduate enrollment
- 2,550
- Student–faculty ratio
- 21 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 63%
- First-generation students
- 59%
- Students over 25
- 31%
- Median family income
- $20,044
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $106,101
- Endowment
- $26,555,410
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 1,721 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From California99%
- Other U.S. states0.5%
- International0.5%
Most first-years stay in state — California State University-Dominguez Hills draws overwhelmingly from California.
1% 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
- 93.3%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $7,449
- Out-of-state tuition
- $20,049
- Room & board
- $18,444
- Books & supplies
- $1,152
- Total cost of attendance
- $23,191
- Average net price
- $8,615
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)
- 43%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 20%
- First-year retention
- 74%
- Transferred to another college
- 3%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $46,827
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $57,162
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,807
- Students with federal loans
- 20%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 44%
About 23% 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)
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
- 1,167
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 9%
- Housing charge (year)
- $10,215
- Application fee
- $70
- Athletics
- NCAA Division II without football
- Varsity athletes
- 239 (110 men · 129 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 (8)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- C
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 2.1 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 29
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 65
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (15,182 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$8,855/year × about 4.8 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.
Modest institutional aid: 79% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,052. 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 1,908 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)
- $57,162
- Typical debt at graduation
- $13,807
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 24%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 59%
Typical debt would take roughly 2.4 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
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.
Men out-earn women by $3,865 (7%) 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
- 79°F
- Winter low
- 49°F
- Annual rain
- 11.8″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Hawthorne Muni AP, CA US station (6 mi from campus).
What California State University-Dominguez Hills graduates study — and earn
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-Dominguez Hills
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare California State University-Dominguez Hills side by side →
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon · Large city · < 1 mi to Portland
- Students
- 13,182
- Admission
- 91%
- Net price
- $10k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $58k
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, Michigan · Large suburb · 25 mi to Detroit
- Students
- 12,351
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $9k
- SAT
- 1120
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $59k
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, Michigan · Remote town · 51 mi to Grand Rapids
- Students
- 8,106
- Admission
- 91%
- Net price
- $9k
- SAT
- 1012
- GPA
- 2.9
- Earnings
- $55k
University of Houston-Downtown
Houston, Texas · Large city · 1 mi to Houston
- Students
- 12,555
- Admission
- 90%
- Net price
- $11k
- SAT
- 1029
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $54k
California State University-San Marcos
San Marcos, California · Large suburb · 29 mi to San Diego
- Students
- 14,877
- Admission
- 95%
- Net price
- $10k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $63k
California State University-Fresno
Fresno, California · Large city · 6 mi to Fresno
- Students
- 21,605
- Admission
- 95%
- Net price
- $7k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $61k
Colleges near California State University-Dominguez Hills
Victory Career College
Carson, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 100 students
California Healing Arts College
Carson, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 243 students
UEI College-Gardena
Gardena, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 1,332 students
Compton College
Compton, CA · Public · Associate · 3,142 students
Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 282 students
El Camino Community College District
Torrance, CA · Public · Associate · 19,210 students
Los Angeles Southwest College
Los Angeles, CA · Public · Associate · 3,706 students
Los Angeles Harbor College
Wilmington, CA · Public · Associate · 6,694 students
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.












