Thousand Oaks, CA · Private · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for California Lutheran University
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$123,931
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $6,100.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for California Lutheran University, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at California Lutheran University
| Full price | $76,826 |
| After grants, at your income | $26,249 |
99% of first-year students here got a grant or scholarship from the college in 2023-24, $30,687 on average.
At this income, 38 of California's other 64 colleges cost less after grants, and 26 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. In state: The Public Price Promise is a $34,000 scholarship for 2026-27, the difference between Cal Lutheran's cost and the average cost at the University of California. First-year students from a California high school with an admission GPA of at least 3.9 get it automatically, and it renews at the same rate (and 2 more below).
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At California Lutheran University, our scenarios for California households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,500 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →Merit scholarships
What California Lutheran University says it awards for grades and test scores.
In state: the Public Price Promise is a $34,000 scholarship for 2026-27, the difference between Cal Lutheran's cost and the average cost at the University of California. First-year students from a California high school with an admission GPA of at least 3.9 get it automatically, and it renews at the same rate.
An Admission Merit Scholarship of $15,000 to $33,000 a year for first-year students, offered automatically on academic performance and other factors in the application review. Presidential Scholarships go up to full tuition and need an application by the November 15 deadline.
Out of state: a $5,000 grant toward annual on-campus housing for every newly admitted student who lives outside California, renewable all four years while living in the residence halls.
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what California Lutheran University reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit.
The $6,500 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in California Lutheran University's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in California, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price California Lutheran University at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Grants from the college
How many first-year students got a grant from California Lutheran University, and the average, are the Department of Education's figures for full-time students who started in 2023-24. They cover every income. The prices after grants already count these grants, so don't take them off again. The Department of Education's page for California Lutheran University →
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: California Lutheran University's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 4.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
California Lutheran University's own budget for 2026-27 is $79,295. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by California Lutheran University. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- La Sierra University$25,893 a year
- Fresno Pacific University$26,190 a year
- California Lutheran University$26,249 a year
- California Baptist University$26,644 a year
- Occidental College$27,104 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every California college →