Minimum graduate stipend
$50,000/yr Official
Paid over 12 months · 2026-2027 · From Sept 1 2026
Official: published by the university · Source: Caltech Graduate Studies Office: Financial Support · Verified 2026-09-27
University profile
Caltech
Other stipend figures
Supporting detail: pay scales, specific schools or departments, and prior years. These are not the headline figure above.
- University-wide · Minimum $48,244/yr Official Paid over 12 months · 2025-2026 · From Sept 1 2025 Source: Caltech Graduate Studies Office: Financial Support · Verified 2026-09-27
Cost of living in Pasadena, CA
City-median rent is a city-level figure, not a near-campus price; university graduate housing lines are the university's own published rates. Each line is labeled with its own source.
- Rent, 1-bedroom (university graduate housing, single occupant) $1,255 to $1,664/mo Official Caltech-leased off-campus studio $1,255; Catalina 1-bedroom $1,664. 2026-27. Catalina 1-bedroom is per bed; gas and electric extra. Source: Caltech Housing: Contracts and Rates · Verified 2026-09-29
- Rent, 1-bedroom (city median) $2,295/mo Estimated City median 1BR Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
- Rent, 2-bedroom split two ways (university graduate housing, shared, per person) $830 to $987/mo Official Catalina per bed: 4-bedroom quad $830; 2-bedroom double $987. 2026-27 (Sep 1 to Aug 31), up about 5% from last year. Furnished; gas and electric extra (about $100-$150 per person) plus $20 per month for ethernet. New graduate students are guaranteed first-year housing. Source: Caltech Housing: Contracts and Rates · Verified 2026-09-29
- Rent, 2-bedroom split two ways (city median) $1,525/mo Estimated City median 2BR, split two ways Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
- Utilities (nearest-metro stand-in) $284/mo Estimated Nearest-metro proxy (Los Angeles). No Numbeo figure for this town; Los Angeles stand-in. Excludes internet. Source: Numbeo (Americas table, Sept 27 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
- Public transit $18/week (weekly fare cap) Official LA Metro 7-day fare cap ($5/day); no monthly pass. Monthly passes were replaced by fare caps. Source: LA Metro fare policy · Verified 2026-09-27
- Public transit $6/week (weekly fare cap) Official LA Metro college/vocational 7-day cap ($2.50/day). Requires enrollment in a participating program. Source: LA Metro college/vocational fares · Verified 2026-09-27
- Parking Not yet available
- Groceries (state-level estimate) $375/mo Estimated State-level estimate (California). About $4,500/yr, single adult; not a city basket. Source: MIT Living Wage food cost via Bankrate · Verified 2026-09-27
Master's tuition
Published tuition (before any aid). PhD students usually have tuition waived; their offer letter confirms. This is not part of the stipend-versus-cost-of-living comparison.
- Master's tuition at Caltech Not yet available