Bachelor's · Vallejo, California

Is Mechanical Engineering at Cal Poly Maritime Academy worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $105,612; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $135,764; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $23,147; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $75k (likely $75k – $99k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $95k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.5 years (likely 1.2–1.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $673k (likely $486k – $857k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.79M (likely $1.38M – $2.21M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 58%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26