Cayuga County
Community College
Public Community College in Auburn, NY. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $38,709.
Ten-year median earnings of $38,709 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 30% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.31 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 30% graduate within six years. 60% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 21% 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 41% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,146 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,147 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The income table below is the number that matters — $5,334 at $0–30k versus $15,726 at $110k+. 69% of students receive grant aid, averaging $6,506 — common but not automatic. 35% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 285 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 | $5,334 |
| $30–48k | $6,485 |
| $48–75k | $10,243 |
| $75–110k | $13,743 |
| $110k+ | $15,726 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 406 of these 1,146 students, totalling $2,404,736 — an average of $5,923 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cayuga 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)