Rohnert Park, CA · Public · 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 Sonoma State 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
$67,681
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $4,600.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for Sonoma State 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 Sonoma State University
| Full price, in state | $29,067 |
| Full price, out of state | $43,621 |
| After grants, at your income | $15,586 |
At this income, 14 of California's other 64 colleges cost less after grants, and 50 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. Sonoma State's scholarship application is for new and continuing students with a GPA of at least 3.0 who enroll full time. Admission is not required when they apply, and the application runs from November 1 to February 1 (and 1 more below).
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At Sonoma State 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 Sonoma State University says it awards for grades and test scores.
Sonoma State's scholarship application is for new and continuing students with a GPA of at least 3.0 who enroll full time. Admission is not required when they apply, and the application runs from November 1 to February 1.
Out of state: students from the exchange states pay the resident rate times 150%: $12,926 a year in tuition and fees, against $23,636 for other states. New students only, Nursing majors are left out, and it is limited to five years.
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 Sonoma State 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. Out of state, there are no grants: the price is before any scholarship from the college.
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 Sonoma State 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 Sonoma State 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.
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: Sonoma State University's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 3.0% 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 out-of-state figure uses the published out-of-state tuition instead. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
Sonoma State University's own budget for 2026-27 is $31,192. 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 Sonoma State University. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Cal Poly Pomona$15,271 a year
- University of California, San Diego$15,363 a year
- Sonoma State University$15,586 a year
- California State University-San Bernardino$15,666 a year
- California State University-Monterey Bay$16,158 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every California college →