by our College Data Analytics TeamHere is what you can expect to pay at California College of the Arts, covering the cost range, projected degree costs, net price, debt at graduation, default rates, and aid distribution patterns.
Use the links below to jump straight to any section on this page:
Published attendance costs at California College of the Arts comes to about $78,664.00 annually.
Below, the published cost is shown three ways — the full sticker price with no aid, the net price after the average grant package, and the net price for low-income students who typically receive the most aid.
| Tuition and fees | $60,226.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $18,438.00 |
| Total cost | $78,664.00 |
| That is 140% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $78,664.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$25,867.00 |
| Net price | $52,797.00 |
| That is 61% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $78,664.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$18,369.00 |
| Net price | $60,295.00 |
| That is 84% above the national average net price. | |
| Go deeper on the components with tuition and fees and room and board. |
The reported cost series has been increasing at a recent average of 4.8% per year, so the four-year total runs well above today’s cost. These tables carry the cost across a degree for three cases: low-income w/ aid, average aid, and no aid. Loan math assumes ten-year repayment at 6.8% interest.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Freshman year | $63,196.00 | $55,337.00 | $82,449.00 |
| Senior year | $72,763.00 | $63,715.00 | $94,931.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $271,619.00 | $237,842.00 | $354,368.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $103,477.00 | $90,609.00 | $135,001.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $3,126.00 | $2,737.00 | $4,078.00 |
| Total amount paid | $375,096.00 | $328,451.00 | $489,370.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Freshman year | $63,196.00 | $55,337.00 | $82,449.00 |
| Senior year | $66,236.00 | $58,000.00 | $86,415.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $129,432.00 | $113,337.00 | $168,864.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $49,309.00 | $43,177.00 | $64,331.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,490.00 | $1,304.00 | $1,943.00 |
| Total amount paid | $178,741.00 | $156,514.00 | $233,195.00 |
Read more in the net-price section.
Net price reflects the true cost to attend after grant and scholarship aid is deducted. For most families it is a more realistic figure than the published cost.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $53,909.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $42,168.00 |
Net price is not the same for every family — it falls as financial need rises and grant aid increases. The table below shows the average net price by family-income bracket:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $32,800.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $28,423.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $42,404.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $44,139.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $52,438.00 |
Get a tailored estimate from the California College of the Arts Net Price Calculator, or get in touch with the financial aid office.
For the grant-and-scholarship detail behind these figures, see the financial aid page.
The median amount borrowed by graduates of California College of the Arts stands at $19,500.00, which federal data classifies as a Low ($10-20k) burden tier.
The full distribution of debt at graduation looks like this:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $5,500.00 |
| 25th | $12,000.00 |
| Median (50th) | $19,500.00 |
| 75th | $34,250.00 |
| 90th | $42,750.00 |
The distance from the 10th to the 90th percentile shows how widely debt outcomes vary.
Dig deeper into debt on the student-loan-debt breakdown.
Debt outcomes vary substantially with family income. Below the data splits borrowers across three income groups:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $23,875.00 |
| Middle income | $24,620.00 |
| High income | $14,460.00 |
Graduates from lower-income families carry $9,415.00 in extra median debt compared with high-income peers.
First-generation students frequently graduate with different debt than continuing-generation students.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,750.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500.00 |
First-gen borrowers at California College of the Arts hold $6,250.00 in extra median debt compared with continuing-generation peers.
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Contrasting Pell and non-Pell borrowers shows how need shapes debt.
The median debt gap between Pell and non-Pell graduates of California College of the Arts comes to $12,000.00. Federal data flags this school for Pell-related debt inequity.
The federal default-rate classification for California College of the Arts is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 4.3% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at California College of the Arts add up to $155,184,525.00 across 5,425 borrowers.
Veterans and active-duty students can access dedicated federal education aid like the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD tuition assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 16 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $30,036.00 |
Dig into veteran education benefits on the veterans benefits detail.
Use the figures above as a launch point, then think through California College of the Arts, consider the following:
Use the pages below to go deeper on a specific part of the cost story:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.