🎓 College profile
California State University-Northridge
CA · Public · Large city · 29,789 applicants 2023
🎯 Parent/student verdict
LikelyAccessible for most applicants. Affordable on average — net price runs around $7,021/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.
✅ Best for
- In-state residents (tuition ~$7,458 — major value play)
- Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Psychology (the two biggest majors)
- Students who thrive in a large, programmatic environment
🎯 The reality
- Out-of-state tuition is 2.7× the in-state rate
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
🏛️ Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.
📊 Outcomes & cost
What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.
Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).
💰 True ROI
21.0× returnWhat families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.
"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).
💰 What families actually pay
Net price by family income
Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At California State University-Northridge, the average net price is $7,021/yr across all families.
🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.
Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use California State University-Northridge's official Net Price Calculator:
Get your family's estimate from California State University-Northridge →Opens on California State University-Northridge's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.
Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.
📚 What students study here
Most popular majors at California State University-Northridge
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what California State University-Northridge actually graduates — not just what it markets.
Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.
💼 Top programs by earnings
Highest-earning majors at California State University-Northridge
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.
| Major (CIP) | Credential | Cohort | 1-yr earnings | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | 155 | $106,780 | $116,613 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | 51 | $100,724 | $105,747 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | 78 | $75,207 | $104,065 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | 251 | $62,821 | $101,348 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | 35 | $75,692 | $101,021 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | 185 | $71,359 | $99,216 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | 75 | $62,768 | $97,123 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | 271 | $68,904 | $92,329 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | 124 | $55,931 | $91,131 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician. | Bachelor's Degree | 26 | $79,352 | $89,804 |
For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →
🤖 AI program signal
AI + computing education at California State University-Northridge
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
⚖️ Compare side-by-side
California State University-Northridge vs. another college
Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.
Building a college list?
Use these to fit California State University-Northridge into your overall strategy: