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California State University-Bakersfield: Rankings, Cost & Majors

627 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
94% Acceptance Rate

California State University-Bakersfield is a public institution in Bakersfield, California enrolling 8,577 undergraduates. It accepts 94% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 50%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #546 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 11%), 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.

How Is California State University-Bakersfield Ranked?

California State University-Bakersfield ranks #546 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 11%.

#546 Best Colleges in Nation
#80 Best Colleges in CA
California State University-Bakersfield ranking badge

2027 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.

California State University-Bakersfield was awarded 627 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

CSU Bakersfield is ranked #546 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 20% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, CSU Bakersfield holds the #80 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

See all of the rankings for California State University-Bakersfield.

Is It Hard to Get Into California State University-Bakersfield?

94% Acceptance Rate
94% Of Accepted Are Women

Acceptance Rate

With an acceptance rate of 94%, California State University-Bakersfield is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.

Learn more about California State University-Bakersfield admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at California State University-Bakersfield?

20 to 1 Student to Faculty
52% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at California State University-Bakersfield is 20 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

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 State University-Bakersfield is 52%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  52 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at California State University-Bakersfield?

79% Freshmen Retention
50% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

California State University-Bakersfield has a freshmen retention rate of 79%. 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  79 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At CSU Bakersfield the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 50%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  50 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at California State University-Bakersfield.

How Diverse Is California State University-Bakersfield?

8,577 Undergraduate Students
82.1% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
64.0% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 8,577 undergraduates at CSU Bakersfield.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at California State University-Bakersfield.

How Much Does California State University-Bakersfield Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
23% Take Out Loans
$27,092 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of CSU Bakersfield 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.

Net Price by Income Group for CSU Bakersfield

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$3,536 $3,817 $5,835 $9,480 $16,069

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 CSU Bakersfield, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At CSU Bakersfield, approximately 23% of students took out student loans averaging $6,773 a year. That adds up to $27,092 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 6.6%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for California State University-Bakersfield.

How Much Do California State U-Bakersfield Graduates Earn?

$59,009 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 State University-Bakersfield make about $59,009 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for California State University-Bakersfield students since it is 20% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for California State University-Bakersfield Graduates

See which majors at California State University-Bakersfield make the most money.

Where Is California State University-Bakersfield Located?

California State
8,577 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

California State University-Bakersfield is a public institution situated in Bakersfield, 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 State University-Bakersfield.

Location of California State University-Bakersfield

Contact information for California State University-Bakersfield can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 9001 Stockdale Hwy, Bakersfield, CA 93311-1099
Phone: 6616542782
Website: www.csub.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_State_Bakersfield
Facebook: www.facebook.com/csubakersfield
Twitter: twitter.com/csubakersfield

What Majors Does California State University-Bakersfield Offer?

24 Majors With Completions
5,306 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 24 majors graduated from California State University-Bakersfield. 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 2,653 NA
Business Administration & Management 375 $37,857
General Psychology 341 $23,911
Liberal Arts General Studies 310 $18,756
Criminal Justice & Corrections 150 $28,455
General Education 138 $66,597
Teacher Education Grade Specific 125 NA
Nursing 115 $81,247
Health & Physical Education 112 NA
Sociology 111 $25,051

Learn more about the majors offered at California State University-Bakersfield along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does CSU Bakersfield Offer Online Classes?

73% Take At Least One Class Online
11% Take All Classes Online

6,238 students took at least one online class at California State University-Bakersfield.

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

Learn more about online learning at California State University-Bakersfield.

Interested in comparing CSU Bakersfield? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

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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