Berkeley City College
Public Community College in Berkeley, CA. Six-year graduation rate 36%. Median 10-year earnings $41,217.
Students who entered Berkeley City College reach a median of $41,217 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Only 36% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 36% graduate within six years. 63% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. A 19% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 36% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,541 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $12,695 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $7,979 at $0–30k against $13,213 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 63% of students receive grant aid, averaging $2,547 — common but not automatic. 1% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 258 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $7,979 |
| $30–48k | $7,182 |
| $48–75k | $12,123 |
| $75–110k | $13,213 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 53 of these 4,541 students, totalling $452,791 — an average of $8,543 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Alameda County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)