by our College Data Analytics TeamCalifornia Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution in Pasadena, California enrolling 987 undergraduates. It accepts 3% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 94%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #74 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
California Institute of Technology ranks #74 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
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.
California Institute of Technology was awarded 232 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Caltech is ranked #74 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Caltech is also ranked #14 on the Best Colleges in California list.
See all of the rankings for California Institute of Technology.
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.
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.
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 91%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
California Institute of Technology has a freshmen retention rate of 97%. 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.
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 94%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at California Institute of Technology.
During the most recent academic year, there were 987 undergraduates at Caltech.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at California Institute of Technology.
The overall average net price of Caltech is $17,140. 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $-2,133 | $-2,886 | $431 | $18,753 | $54,157 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Institute_of_Technology |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/californiainstituteoftechnology |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/caltech |
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 | 619 | NA |
| Computer Science | 91 | $129,693 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 71 | NA |
| Physics | 65 | NA |
| Electrical Engineering | 55 | NA |
| Chemistry | 37 | $59,996 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 35 | NA |
| Chemical Engineering | 30 | NA |
| Mathematics | 27 | NA |
| Engineering Physics | 25 | NA |
Want to see how other colleges compare to Caltech? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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.
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