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California Institute of Technology Data & Information Overview

3% Acceptance Rate
0% Student Loan Default Rate

If you want to know more about California Institute of Technology, such as what majors does it offer, how diverse it is, how well it ranks, and more, this is your one-stop resource.

Want to dig deeper into a particular stat? Just click on its tile and you’ll be taken to a more in-depth page on the figure. In addition, you can use the links below to quickly jump to any section on this page.

* Rankings

Where Does California Institute of Technology Rank?

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

Overall Ranking

Caltech was not ranked in College Factual’s 2026 Best Overall Colleges report. This could be for a number of reasons, including lack of data.

See all of the rankings for California Institute of Technology.

How Difficult Is Admission to California Institute of Technology?

3% Acceptance Rate
4% Of Accepted Are Women

Admission Selectivity

California Institute of Technology has a very low acceptance rate of 3%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to Caltech just in case you don’t make the cut.

Learn more about California Institute of Technology admissions.

Teaching Staff at California Institute of Technology

3 to 1 Student to Faculty
93% Full Time Teachers

Faculty Accessibility

At Caltech, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 3 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.

Full-Time Faculty Share

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at California Institute of Technology is 93%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  93 out of 100
0
100

Academic Performance at California Institute of Technology

98% Freshmen Retention
93% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

California Institute of Technology has a freshmen retention rate of 98%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  98 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Caltech the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 93%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  93 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at California Institute of Technology.

Diversity Profile of California Institute of Technology

1,023 Undergraduate Students
67.1% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
43.2% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 1,023 undergraduates at Caltech.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at California Institute of Technology.

Cost of Attending California Institute of Technology

$16,772 Net Price
4% Take Out Loans
$24,848 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of Caltech is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Caltech

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$1,667 $1,023 $7,003 $22,073 $56,275

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Caltech, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Caltech, approximately 4% of students took out student loans averaging $6,212 a year. That adds up to $24,848 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 0.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for California Institute of Technology.

What Do California Institute of Technology Alumni Earn?

$128,566 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from California Institute of Technology make about $128,566 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future California Institute of Technology graduates since it is 161% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at California Institute of Technology make the most money.

Location of California Institute of Technology

California State
1,023 Undergraduate Students
Midsize City Campus Setting

California Institute of Technology is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Pasadena, California. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of California Institute of Technology.

Location of California Institute of Technology

Get in touch with California Institute of Technology can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125
Phone: 6263956811
Website: www.caltech.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/californiainstituteoftechnology
Twitter: twitter.com/caltech

California Institute of Technology Majors

9 Majors With Completions
1,182 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 9 majors graduated from California Institute of Technology. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 591 NA
Computer Science 94 $129,693
Physics 58 NA
Mechanical Engineering 55 NA
Chemistry 50 $59,996
Electrical Engineering 48 NA
Engineering Physics 41 NA
Geological & Earth Sciences 32 NA
Biomedical Engineering 29 NA
Chemical Engineering 20 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at California Institute of Technology along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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