-27%
Public bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt are 27% below the public bachelor's-predominant peer median ($47.6k vs $65.3k).
California · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Cal Poly Humboldt
Arcata, California. 5,491 undergraduate students. 70 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Cal Poly Humboldt
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.9% → 0.0%).
+50%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt rose 50% between 2007 and 2010 ($3.8k → $5.8k).
+17%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt rose 17% between 2007 and 2010 ($9.4k → $11.0k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. California
Each tile compares this institution to the California median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$47,626+27% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$37,382
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry46.6%+18% · '97→'24
California median 61.3%$14,500+80% · '97→'10
At program completion5,491+5% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS75.6%-3% · '04→'10
first-time, full-time98.8%+34% · '01→'24
latest cohort$7,913+209% · '00→'10
out-of-state $19,793SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
4.1%Median federal debt $14,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $47,626 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+263%
Cal Poly Humboldt · completion · 100% rose
7.1% → 25.7%
+209%
Cal Poly Humboldt · in-state tuition rose
$1,861 → $5,750
+126%
Cal Poly Humboldt · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,241 → $20,850
+80%
Cal Poly Humboldt · median debt rose
$6,125 → $11,000
-100%
Cal Poly Humboldt · cohort default rate fell
8.0% → 0.0%
+25%
Cal Poly Humboldt · earnings_median_8yr rose
$35,400 → $44,299
+26%
Cal Poly Humboldt · earnings_median_6yr rose
$29,700 → $37,382
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering.$81,168Psychology, General.$73,108Social Work.$72,074Forestry.$63,673Natural Resources Conservation and Research.$62,897Business Administration, Management and Operations.$58,979Social Work.$57,147Political Science and Government.$54,461Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies.$52,626Botany/Plant Biology.$52,224Sociology.$51,759Natural Resources Conservation and Research.$50,871Plant Sciences.$50,661Economics.$50,561Biology, General.$50,531Geography and Cartography.$50,093Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$49,190Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences.$48,634Criminology.$48,299Natural Resources Management and Policy.$47,629Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management.$46,874Anthropology.$46,504Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other.$45,421Psychology, General.$43,990
Showing top 24 of 31 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
31 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
AGRICULTURE · CIP 01
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Cal Poly Humboldt graduates earn $X” — not “Cal Poly Humboldt makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Cal Poly Humboldt caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.