by our College Data Analytics TeamCalifornia State University-Chico is a public institution in Chico, California enrolling 13,631 undergraduates. It accepts 93% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 63%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #173 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 3%), 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 State University-Chico ranks #173 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 3%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
California State University-Chico was awarded 334 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Chico State as #173 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, Chico State holds the #34 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
See all of the rankings for California State University-Chico.
With an acceptance rate of 93%, California State University-Chico 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-Chico admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at California State University-Chico is 23 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.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at California State University-Chico is 56%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
California State University-Chico has a freshmen retention rate of 82%. 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.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Chico State for first-time, full-time students is 63%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at California State University-Chico.
The current enrollment includes 13,631 undergraduates at Chico State.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at California State University-Chico.
The typical net cost at Chico State 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,902 | $10,099 | $12,961 | $16,506 | $23,566 |
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 Chico State, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
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 Chico State, approximately 32% of students took out student loans averaging $5,594 a year. That adds up to $22,376 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 6.1%. 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-Chico.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from California State University-Chico make about $64,172 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for California State University-Chico students since it is 30% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at California State University-Chico make the most money.
California State University-Chico is a public institution situated in Chico, 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-Chico.
Get in touch with California State University-Chico are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | First and Normal Sts, Chico, CA 95929-0150 |
| Phone: | 5308986116 |
| Website: | www.csuchico.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_University,_Chico |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/californiastateuniversitychico |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/chicostate |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 27 majors graduated from California State University-Chico. 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 | 3,898 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 666 | $48,098 |
| General Psychology | 300 | $27,789 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 256 | $21,120 |
| Sociology | 201 | $31,487 |
| Social Work | 169 | $41,914 |
| Health & Physical Education | 148 | $23,129 |
| Computer Science | 118 | $72,808 |
| Nursing | 112 | $94,107 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 106 | $33,845 |
10,494 students took at least one online class at California State University-Chico.
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-Chico.
Interested in comparing Chico State? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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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