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Is California Aeronautical University worth it?
A first pass affordability and outcome read for California Aeronautical, using national average inputs. Run your own numbers for a personalized score.
Worth-It Score
Heavy lift
California Aeronautical lands in the heavy lift band for a typical family. The combination of $46,310 in yearly net price and $28,667 in median debt asks a lot relative to median earnings of $46,345. For context, California Aeronautical's net price runs about 42% above the typical 4-year, private for-profit school. This does not make the school wrong for every student, but it does mean the price deserves a closer test.
Is the price fair?
Compared to 186 similar 4-year, private for-profit schools
This school
$36,328
/yrAverage school like this
$25,582
/yrThis weighs on your Worth-It Score
You'd pay about $10,747 more per year than the typical student at a similar school. Over 4 years that's roughly $43,000 in extra cost.
Score breakdown
The public version of the score weighs affordability, after graduation outcomes, and repayment burden.
Affordability
40% weight
The yearly net price is doing real work against the score and raises the financing burden quickly.
Outcome
40% weight
The outcome data does not create enough margin to fully offset the cost.
Repayment
20% weight
Median debt stays in a more comfortable repayment range for a typical graduate.
The numbers behind the score
Median net price per year
$46,310
Median earnings 10 years out
$46,345
Median debt at graduation
$28,667
Graduation rate
35%
At California Aeronautical, a typical graduate carries about $28,667 in student debt and earns roughly $46,345 ten years after enrolling. On a standard 10-year repayment plan, that works out to about $326 per month, or 8% of pre-tax income. That sits at the tighter end of a workable borrower range.
How earnings compare to a high school diploma
Graduates earn $13,869 more than the typical working high school graduate in California ($32,476) ten years after entering this school. A federal rule finalized in July 2026 ties each undergraduate program's federal loan eligibility to a comparison like this one, with the first calculations expected in 2027.
The national figure is $31,269. The Department of Education uses it instead of the state figure when fewer than half of a school's students come from its state.
68% of former students here earned more than the typical high school graduate ten years after entry, by College Scorecard's own measure.
Context, not a federal determination. The benchmarks are the Department of Education's published thresholds (2024 notice, based on 2022 Census data); thresholds under the 2026 rule have not been released yet. The official test looks at each program's graduates four years after completion; our figure is College Scorecard's median for the whole school, ten years after entry. How this works
What this means for your family
California Aeronautical is a private for-profit school in Bakersfield, CA. In this category, families usually need to look especially hard at debt, repayment room, and whether the long-run earnings picture justifies the price.
Similar schools worth comparing
These schools share a similar sector, geography, or price range.
Private for-profit 4-year
Los Angeles Film School
Hollywood, CA
Worth-It Score: 14/100
Median net price: $48,481
Private for-profit 4-year
Los Angeles College of Music
Pasadena, CA
Worth-It Score: 19/100
Median net price: $42,853
Private for-profit 4-year
Newschool of Architecture and Design
San Diego, CA
Worth-It Score: 40/100
Median net price: $51,582
Private for-profit 4-year
Academy of Art
San Francisco, CA
Worth-It Score: 17/100
Median net price: $41,747
Private for-profit 4-year
American Medical Sciences Center
Glendale, CA
Worth-It Score: 38/100
Median net price: $41,467
Common questions about California Aeronautical
The median net price at California Aeronautical is $46,310 per year. That is the average yearly price after typical grant aid for students in the public federal data, not the published sticker price.
Get your personalized Worth-It score
National averages are a starting point. Plug in your actual aid offer, intended major, and family situation to get a score that reflects your specific picture.
Looking at for-profit colleges options in California? See the most affordable for-profit colleges in California →
The Worth-It Score weighs affordability (40%), after graduation outcomes (40%), and repayment burden (20%). Underlying data points come from publicly available federal higher education reporting. See full methodology →
What families actually paid
The published price is rarely what anyone pays. Pick a household income range to see what students at California Aeronautical in that range paid on average, after grants and scholarships.
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All students who received aid
$46,310a year, on average
Average for first-time, full-time students who received federal financial aid, 2024-25. It does not include transfer or part-time students, and it is an average rather than a quote — what you pay depends on your own circumstances and the aid this school offers you. Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS.
Now work out how to pay for it, cheapest money first.
A Worth-It Score tells you whether the price is justified. The 2026-27 funding guide covers the borrowing order, what changed on July 1, 2026, and the current limits.
Open the 2026-27 funding guide →