College dataData from U.S. Dept of EducationUpdated May 2026 · 4 min read
Data: 2026-05 Next refresh: Nov 2026

California State University Maritime Academy: Cost, Graduate Salary, Acceptance Rate and Return on Investment

California State University Maritime Academy is a public college in Vallejo, CA. Students pay about $20,555 a year in net price, and the median graduate earns $94,784 ten years after enrolling. By our Degree-ROI measure the degree pays back in about 2.2 years and adds $373,655 over a decade, ranking it #25 of 918 (top 4%) by value added.

Avg net price / yr
$20,555
Median salary (10 yrs)
$94,784
10-yr value added
$373,655
Acceptance rate
95.0%

What is California State University Maritime Academy's acceptance rate?

California State University Maritime Academy has an acceptance rate of 95.0%, which makes it largely open-admission. It is a public institution in Vallejo, CA enrolling about 804 students, with a 63.3% graduation rate.

How much does California State University Maritime Academy cost?

California State University Maritime Academy costs about $20,555 per year in average net price, what a typical student actually pays after grants and scholarships. Over four years, including typical borrowing, that totals roughly $107,185. Published sticker cost of attendance is $29,853 per year.

How much do California State University Maritime Academy graduates earn?

Ten years after enrolling, the median California State University Maritime Academy student earns $94,784 per year. That is $48,084 more than the $46,700 that the typical worker with only a high-school diploma earns.

Is California State University Maritime Academy worth it? Degree ROI and payback period

California State University Maritime Academy pays back its roughly $107,185 cost in about 2.2 years, then keeps returning the earnings premium. Over the first decade the degree adds about $373,655 net of cost, a 4.49x return on the money invested. That ranks it #25 of 918 (top 4%) by value added. Its top-tier value is driven mainly by strong graduate earnings and a small, focused program.

Top 10% value

California State University Maritime Academy graduation rate and student debt

63.3% of California State University Maritime Academy students complete their degree, and the median graduate leaves with $24,965 in federal student debt. That debt is about 26% of one year of median graduate earnings.

California State University Maritime Academy by the numbers (vs the typical college)

How California State University Maritime Academy compares to the median four-year college in our snapshot. Percentile is its rank among the 918 colleges that report both earnings and cost (higher is better).

MetricThis schoolMedian collegePercentile
Avg net price / yr$20,555$20,299cheaper than 49%
Median earnings (10 yrs)$94,784$54,76897th
Graduation rate63.3%57.0%63th
Acceptance rate95.0%75.7%more selective than 10%
10-yr value added$373,655-$28,19297th
ROI multiple (per $1)4.49x0.73x96th
Payback period2.2 yrs8.8 yrsfaster than 96%
How we compute Degree value-add & ROI. Investment basis = average net price × 4 years + median debt (net price preferred; published sticker cost used as a fallback). Earnings premium = median earnings 10 years after entry minus the $46,700 typical earnings of a worker with only a high-school diploma (BLS Current Population Survey, median annual earnings for workers with a high-school diploma and no college (~$899/week, 2023)). Degree value-add = premium × 10 years minus total cost, the net return of the degree itself over a high-school career (it can be negative). ROI multiple = 10-year premium ÷ cost. Payback = cost ÷ annual premium. Ranked by value-add among the 918 four-year colleges in this snapshot that report both earnings and cost; 226 of them do not pay back at ten years. Missing values are excluded, never estimated.
Open data: these figures come from the public College Scorecard (public domain). Our computed Degree value-add, ROI multiple, and payback are free to cite/reuse under CC-BY 4.0.

Frequently asked

Is California State University Maritime Academy worth the cost compared to other colleges?

By value added net of cost, California State University Maritime Academy ranks #25 of 918 (top 4%) of the 918 four-year colleges we rank, and returns about 4.49x the money invested over a decade.

Is California State University Maritime Academy expensive compared to other colleges?

Its $20,555 average net price is above the $20,299 median for the colleges in this snapshot, making it cheaper than 49% of them.

Do California State University Maritime Academy graduates earn more than average?

Median earnings of $94,784 ten years out are above the $54,768 median, higher than 97% of the colleges here.

How hard is it to get into California State University Maritime Academy compared to other colleges?

Its 95.0% acceptance rate is above the 75.7% median, making it more selective than 10% of the colleges in the snapshot.

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