by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend California State University-Los Angeles: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
At Cal State LA, 13% of incoming students take out a loan to help cover first-year costs, for an average of $5,017 per student, private and federal loans combined.
On the federal side, the average loan is $4,658, amounting to 84.7% of the $5,500 cap on first-year federal borrowing for the typical dependent student. Remember the all-undergraduate figures below leave out private loans, so they will look lower than this private-plus-federal freshman amount.
Looking at all undergraduates at Cal State LA, freshmen included, 18% use federal student loans to help pay for their education, at an average of $7,138 per year. It comes to 53.2% higher than the $4,658 freshmen take on.
Borrowing the same amount each year would add up to roughly $14,276 after two years and $28,552 over a four-year span. These projections assume the same federal borrowing each year and exclude private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 18% |
| Average federal loan per year | $7,138 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 3,861 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $27,561,470 |
The middle borrower at Cal State LA owes $11,966 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $11,966 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $13,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $8,100 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Cal State LA.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,940 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $19,812 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,892 |
How wide this percentile range is tells you how much borrowing varies across students at Cal State LA.
PLUS loans — taken out by parents or graduate students — add to the total cost of attendance financed by debt at Cal State LA.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 653 | $12,553 |
| Completed (graduates) | 414 | $12,526 |
| Did not complete | 239 | $12,638 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $148.95/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Cal State LA.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 643 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 10 | — |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 459 | $12,069 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 194 | $13,214 |
These figures turn the debt totals into a monthly repayment picture for Cal State LA.
A loan default — failing to keep up with federal student-loan payments — is one of the worst financial outcomes a borrower can face. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Cal State LA follows.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 5.4% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 2788 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
Median debt differs by income tier, first-generation status, and whether the student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,500 |
| Middle income | $11,157 |
| High income | $13,368 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,387 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,617 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,068 |
| Independent students | $13,515 |
The Department of Education computes gap indicators that show how borrowing differs between student groups at Cal State LA.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Important to Remember
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.