Cerro Coso
Community College
Public Community College in Ridgecrest, CA. Six-year graduation rate 25%. Median 10-year earnings $34,963.
Ten-year median earnings of $34,963 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 25% graduate within six years.
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
- ! Graduation rate 25% — below national average
Academics
Only 25% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. Just 27% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Transfer-out runs to 13% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 15% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 24:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,496 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $20,045 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $18,595 at $0–30k against $21,891 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 60% of students receive grant aid, averaging $3,321 — common but not automatic. 2% 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 · 117 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 | $18,595 |
| $30–48k | $13,761 |
| $48–75k | $17,054 |
| $75–110k | $21,891 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 69 of these 3,496 students, totalling $495,191 — an average of $7,177 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Kern 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)