PlainCollege

California State University-San Marcos vs California State University-Sacramento

San Marcos, CA · Sacramento, CA · largest Scorecard gap: median debt at graduation

Scorecard match plate

Pair CA:CA

PUBLIC-PAIR · SAME-STATE · ACCEPT-OPEN · NET-SPLIT · EARN-PAR · DEBT-SPLIT · COMPLETE-PAR · GAP-DEBT

  • PUBLIC-PAIR Public pair
  • SAME-STATE Same state · CA
  • ACCEPT-OPEN Open admission
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-PAR Earnings near-par
  • DEBT-SPLIT Debt split
  • COMPLETE-PAR Completion near-par
  • GAP-DEBT Largest gap · Median Debt at Graduation

Instrument codes from this pair's College Scorecard ownership, geography, acceptance, net price, earnings, debt, and completion, plus the ENROLL-RACE · wide · 2013–2023 decade-path stamp below, not a ranking or recommendation.

Decade path · College Scorecard

Both grew, one campus expanded much faster

ENROLL-RACE · wide · 2013–2023

Undergraduate headcount rose at both California State University-San Marcos and California State University-Sacramento across 2013–2023, but one fitted annual pace pulls far ahead of the other. Treat them as size peers on different slopes, not interchangeable large campuses.

  • California State University-San Marcos: enrollment grew +32.6% over 2013–2023; fitted +369 students/yr fitted, r² 0.62.
  • California State University-Sacramento: enrollment grew +7.2% over 2013–2023; fitted +246 students/yr fitted, r² 0.57.
  • California State University-San Marcos: acceptance rate eased +53.1% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.69).
  • California State University-Sacramento: acceptance rate eased +34.4% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.70).

College Scorecard institution series; dollars are nominal. Direction claims require r² ≥ 0.40 on the fitted annual slope, otherwise the page reports the observed range. Descriptive history, not a recommendation.

Scorecard metrics

Cards ordered by relative gap on this pair. Teal = better side.

Largest gaps: California State University-San Marcos vs California State University-Sacramento

  1. MEDIAN-DEBT-AT-GRA California State University-Sacramento leads on median debt at graduation ($15,000 vs $17,350 at California State University-San Marcos)
  2. AVG-NET-PRICE California State University-Sacramento leads on avg net price ($9,338 vs $10,229 at California State University-San Marcos)
  3. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(6 California State University-Sacramento leads on median earnings (6 yr) ($51,074 vs $48,673 at California State University-San Marcos)

California State University-San Marcos profile · California State University-Sacramento profile · Compare other colleges

Median Debt at Graduation and other Scorecard questions

On median debt at graduation, who leads between California State University-San Marcos and California State University-Sacramento?▼
California State University-Sacramento leads on median debt at graduation at $15,000 versus $17,350 at California State University-San Marcos. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On avg net price, who leads between California State University-San Marcos and California State University-Sacramento?▼
California State University-Sacramento leads on avg net price at $9,338 versus $10,229 at California State University-San Marcos. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median earnings (6 yr), who leads between California State University-San Marcos and California State University-Sacramento?▼
California State University-Sacramento leads on median earnings (6 yr) at $51,074 versus $48,673 at California State University-San Marcos. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard College Scorecard institution outcomes (earnings, completion, debt); median debt at graduation focus for this pair · 2025