PlainCollege

University of California-Irvine vs University of California-San Diego

Irvine, CA · La Jolla, CA · largest Scorecard gap: median earnings (6 yr)

Scorecard match plate

Pair CA:CA

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

  • PUBLIC-PAIR Public pair
  • SAME-STATE Same state · CA
  • ACCEPT-PAR Admission near-par
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-PAR Earnings near-par
  • DEBT-PAR Debt near-par
  • COMPLETE-HIGH High completion
  • GAP-EARN Largest gap · Median Earnings (6 yr)

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 University of California-Irvine and University of California-San Diego across 2013–2023, with a wide pace gap, while acceptance rates tightened on both sides. Growth plus a shared selectivity squeeze is the board's distinctive shape.

  • University of California-San Diego: enrollment grew +42.0% over 2013–2023; fitted +1,028 students/yr fitted, r² 0.97.
  • University of California-Irvine: enrollment grew +25.4% over 2013–2023; fitted +590 students/yr fitted, r² 0.66.
  • University of California-Irvine: acceptance rate tightened -39.7% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.82).
  • University of California-San Diego: acceptance rate tightened -34.6% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.46).

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: University of California-Irvine vs University of California-San Diego

  1. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(6 University of California-San Diego leads on median earnings (6 yr) ($65,669 vs $56,210 at University of California-Irvine)
  2. AVG-NET-PRICE University of California-San Diego leads on avg net price ($12,470 vs $14,251 at University of California-Irvine)
  3. ACCEPTANCE-RATE University of California-San Diego leads on acceptance rate (26.7% vs 28.6% at University of California-Irvine)

University of California-Irvine profile · University of California-San Diego profile · Compare other colleges

Median Earnings (6 yr) and other Scorecard questions

On median earnings (6 yr), who leads between University of California-Irvine and University of California-San Diego?▼
University of California-San Diego leads on median earnings (6 yr) at $65,669 versus $56,210 at University of California-Irvine. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On avg net price, who leads between University of California-Irvine and University of California-San Diego?▼
University of California-San Diego leads on avg net price at $12,470 versus $14,251 at University of California-Irvine. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On acceptance rate, who leads between University of California-Irvine and University of California-San Diego?▼
University of California-San Diego leads on acceptance rate at 26.7% versus 28.6% at University of California-Irvine. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard College Scorecard institution outcomes (earnings, completion, debt); median earnings (6 yr) focus for this pair · 2025