by our College Data Analytics TeamCalifornia State University-Los Angeles is a public institution in Los Angeles, California enrolling 19,562 undergraduates. It accepts 91% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 53%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #410 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 8%), 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-Los Angeles ranks #410 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 8%.
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-Los Angeles was awarded 1590 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Cal State LA is ranked #410 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
Cal State LA also holds the #65 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
See all of the rankings for California State University-Los Angeles.
California State University-Los Angeles has an acceptance rate of 91%, 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 Cal State LA.
Learn more about California State University-Los Angeles admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at California State University-Los Angeles is 21 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.
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-Los Angeles is 42%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at California State University-Los Angeles is 72%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Cal State LA the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 53%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at California State University-Los Angeles.
During the most recent academic year, there were 19,562 undergraduates at Cal State LA.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at California State University-Los Angeles.
The overall average net price of Cal State LA 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,877 | $2,974 | $5,002 | $7,355 | $13,578 |
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 Cal State LA, 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 Cal State LA, approximately 18% of students took out student loans averaging $7,138 a year. That adds up to $28,552 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 5.4%. 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-Los Angeles.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from California State University-Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $59,211 in their early years. That’s great news for California State University-Los Angeles students since it is 20% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at California State University-Los Angeles make the most money.
California State University-Los Angeles is an public institution situated in Los Angeles, 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-Los Angeles.
Contact information for California State University-Los Angeles are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90032-8506 |
| Phone: | 3233433000 |
| Website: | www.calstatela.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_University,_Los_Angeles |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/CalStateLA |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/calstatela |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 28 majors graduated from California State University-Los Angeles. 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 | 6,322 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 933 | $43,310 |
| General Psychology | 452 | NA |
| Social Work | 365 | $44,351 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 357 | $32,136 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 320 | $31,973 |
| Sociology | 259 | $29,367 |
| Health & Physical Education | 220 | $25,029 |
| Nursing | 219 | $98,093 |
| Computer Science | 217 | $55,088 |
11,180 students took at least one online class at California State University-Los Angeles.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at California State University-Los Angeles.
Want to see how other colleges compare to Cal State LA? 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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