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California State University-Fresno: Rankings, Cost & Majors

1246 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
95% Acceptance Rate

California State University-Fresno is a public institution in Fresno, California enrolling 21,605 undergraduates. It accepts 95% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 57%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #322 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 6%), 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-Fresno Ranked?

California State University-Fresno ranks #322 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 6%.

#322 Best Colleges in Nation
#61 Best Colleges in CA
California State University-Fresno ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

California State University-Fresno was awarded 1246 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

College Factual ranked Fresno State as #322 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, Fresno State holds the #61 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

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

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

95% Acceptance Rate
96% Of Accepted Are Women

Acceptance Rate

California State University-Fresno has an acceptance rate of 95%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for Fresno State.

Learn more about California State University-Fresno admissions.

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

22 to 1 Student to Faculty
55% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

At California State University-Fresno, the student to faculty ratio is 22 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at California State University-Fresno is 55%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  55 out of 100
0
100

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

82% Freshmen Retention
57% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate of 82% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like California State University-Fresno enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  82 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Fresno State for first-time, full-time students is 57%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  57 out of 100
0
100

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

How Diverse Is California State University-Fresno?

21,605 Undergraduate Students
80.3% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
58.3% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 21,605 undergraduates at Fresno State.

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

How Much Does California State University-Fresno Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
19% Take Out Loans
$25,776 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of Fresno 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.

Net Price by Income Group for Fresno State

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$5,105 $5,429 $7,196 $10,291 $16,899

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 Fresno State, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Fresno State, approximately 19% of students took out student loans averaging $6,444 a year. That adds up to $25,776 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 5.0%. 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 State University-Fresno.

How Much Do California State U-Fresno Graduates Earn?

$61,244 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from California State University-Fresno make around $61,244 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future California State University-Fresno graduates since it is 24% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for California State University-Fresno Graduates

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

Where Is California State University-Fresno Located?

California State
21,605 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

California State University-Fresno is an public institution located in Fresno, California. Fresno is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of California State University-Fresno.

Location of California State University-Fresno

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

Contact Details
Address: 5241 N Maple Ave, Fresno, CA 93740
Phone: 5592784240
Website: www.csufresno.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_University,_Fresno
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fresnostate
Twitter: twitter.com/Fresno_State

What Majors Does California State University-Fresno Offer?

27 Majors With Completions
11,614 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 27 majors graduated from California State University-Fresno. 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 5,807 NA
Business Administration & Management 700 $43,436
General Psychology 548 $25,286
Liberal Arts General Studies 486 $20,210
Criminology 305 $30,453
Health & Physical Education 302 $25,888
General Biology 197 $26,673
Nursing 170 $86,057
Social Work 159 $42,668
Sociology 132 $26,801

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

Does Fresno State Offer Online Classes?

59% Take At Least One Class Online
3% Take All Classes Online

12,720 students took at least one online class at California State University-Fresno.

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-Fresno.

Want to see how other colleges compare to Fresno State? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.

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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