Cal State Long Beach (CSULB): Acceptance Rate, Cost and Majors

Cal State (CSU) guide · By CalChannel Editorial Team · Updated September 29, 2026

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) admitted 46% of its 83,967 first-year applicants in 2024-25, making it one of the more selective campuses in the Cal State system. It’s a public university, not a UC, with about 42,000 students in Fall 2025. Tuition and mandatory fees for California residents are $8,748 for 2026-27, and the full on-campus cost of attendance is $34,462. CSULB ranks No. 3 among national universities for social mobility in U.S. News 2026. This guide covers the CSULB acceptance rate, local admission, cost, graduation rate and majors.

California State University, Long Beach goes by a lot of names: CSULB, Cal State Long Beach, CSU Long Beach, Long Beach State or simply “The Beach.” Whatever you call it, it’s one of the most applied-to universities in the country, and its admission odds depend heavily on where you went to high school.

Here’s what you need to know: how selective CSULB really is, what it costs in 2026-27, whether it’s a commuter school and how it compares with other Cal State and UC options.

What Is CSULB?

CSULB is California State University, Long Beach, a public research university (R2) and one of the 23 campuses of the California State University system. It was founded in 1949 and sits on a 323-acre campus in Long Beach, about 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean. It’s also a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution.

CSULB is not part of the University of California system. That matters for three reasons: it uses the Cal State application, follows CSU admission rules and charges CSU tuition, which is far lower than UC tuition for California residents.

The campus is easy to recognize. Its blue pyramid arena (now the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid) is one of the most distinctive buildings in California higher education, and the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden is a quiet landmark on campus. The athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I in the Big West Conference and are branded “The Beach,” with a shark mascot, Elbee, adopted in 2020. School colors are black and gold.

What Is the CSULB Acceptance Rate?

The CSULB acceptance rate is 46%: Cal State Long Beach admitted 38,854 of 83,967 first-year applicants in 2024-25, and 6,482 enrolled. For Fall 2025, the rate was about 45%. That makes CSULB one of the more selective Cal State campuses, alongside San Diego State.

Here’s what the trend shows: CSULB became somewhat easier to get into after 2017-18, when it admitted only 28%, but applications keep climbing. Nearly 84,000 students applied in 2024-25, about 45% more than a decade earlier.

What Does CSULB Admissions Look For?

CSULB admits first-year students by major, and local applicants get priority. You need to meet CSU minimums, but because CSULB receives far more qualified applicants than it can admit, most applicants are ranked by a CSULB eligibility index, with admission based on space available.

How Local Admission Works at CSULB

Local preference is the single biggest factor after meeting minimums. Graduates of local districts such as Long Beach Unified, ABC Unified, Downey Unified, Compton Unified and Huntington Beach schools, plus some local private schools, qualify. A local first-year applicant who meets CSULB’s minimum eligibility but isn’t admissible to their chosen major is offered admission as an undeclared student, a meaningful safety net.

Transfers get a similar benefit. Since Fall 2025, students who completed most of their units at Long Beach City College, Cerritos College, Golden West College, Coastline Community College or Orange Coast College count as local. Local CSU-eligible transfers are guaranteed admission if they meet the major’s minimum GPA and preparation, except in highly impacted majors.

What Does CSULB Cost?

Cal State Long Beach tuition for California residents is $6,838 for 2026-27, plus $1,910 in mandatory fees, for a total of $8,748. The full cost of attendance ranges from $28,860 for students living at home to $42,476 for students renting off campus. Nonresidents pay an additional $12,246 in nonresident tuition.

Most students pay much less than those totals. CSULB’s average net price for first-time, full-time students receiving grant aid was $10,607 in 2023-24. Cal Grant, Pell and the CSU’s State University Grant can cover tuition for eligible Californians.

“Long Beach State is one of the clearest value cases in California. Tuition and fees are under $9,000, the average net price for aided students is around $10,600, and it ranks No. 3 nationally for social mobility. The real budget question is housing: renting near campus adds about $8,000 a year over living on campus, and more than $13,000 over living at home.”

CalChannel Editorial Team

Is CSULB Cheaper Than a UC?

Yes, for tuition. CSU basic tuition is $6,838 for 2026-27 at every campus, including CSULB, San Diego State, CSUN and CSU Monterey Bay, while UC tuition for California residents is much higher. The total budget still depends mostly on housing: CSULB’s $34,462 on-campus budget sits between CSUN’s $29,484 and SDSU’s $36,432.

Is CSULB a Commuter School?

Largely, yes. In Fall 2025, 3,013 students moved into CSULB’s three residential villages (Hillside, Parkside and Beachside), out of roughly 36,700 undergraduates. That means fewer than one in ten undergraduates live in campus housing, and most students live at home or rent nearby.

That doesn’t mean campus is empty. CSULB draws heavily from Los Angeles and Orange counties, so many students commute short distances and stay on campus between classes. But if you want a traditional residential college experience, expect a smaller residential community than the size of the university suggests, and apply for housing early.

CSULB Ranking and Graduation Rate

CSULB ranks No. 3 among national universities for social mobility in the U.S. News 2026 Best Colleges, the same position as the year before. The Wall Street Journal ranked it No. 43 among U.S. colleges in its 2026 list, up from No. 67. Washington Monthly placed it No. 9 for “Best Colleges for Your Tuition Dollars” and No. 4 for “Best Bang for the Buck: West.”

Outcomes are strong for a large public university: 87% of full-time first-year students return for a second year, and the six-year graduation rate is 69%. The student-to-faculty ratio is 23:1.

So is CSULB harder to get into than other Cal State campuses? Yes, for most applicants. In the same admissions year, CSULB admitted 46%, compared with 36% at San Diego State, 93% at CSUN and 97% at CSU Monterey Bay.

What Majors Does CSULB Offer?

CSULB offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, plus several doctorates, across colleges including the Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, Health and Human Services, Liberal Arts, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Admission is by major, and some majors are more competitive than others: STEM majors require a higher eligibility index (3,600) than non-STEM majors (3,200 for California residents).

Notable alumni reflect that range, from filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Oscar-winning screenwriter Linda Woolverton to three-time Olympic volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor and Grammy-winning duo the Carpenters.

If you’re comparing Southern California options, see our guides to Loyola Marymount University and California Baptist University, two private alternatives with very different price points.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line on CSULB

Cal State Long Beach admits about 46% of applicants, gives real priority to local students and charges California residents $8,748 in tuition and fees for 2026-27. With a 69% graduation rate and a No. 3 national ranking for social mobility, it’s one of the strongest values in the Cal State system. Compare CSULB with Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Fullerton and other Cal State campuses.

Plan around two things. First, admission: if you’re not a local applicant, treat CSULB as a selective school and choose your major carefully. Second, housing: most students commute, and the difference between living at home ($28,860) and renting off campus ($42,476) is larger than the entire tuition bill.

CalChannel Editorial Team California college guides

The CalChannel editorial team researches and writes guides to California colleges, admissions and financial aid. We build our college profiles and aid guides from colleges’ own published data, federal IPEDS data and the California Student Aid Commission. Read our editorial policy.