Bachelor's · Rohnert Park, California

Is Political Science and Government at Sonoma State University 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $45,171; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $69,828; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $11,125; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $46k (likely $46k – $63k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $30k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.4 years (likely 2.6–4.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $53k (likely −$47k – $158k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $432k (likely $221k – $667k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 55%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26