College of
the Redwoods
Public Community College in Eureka, CA. Six-year graduation rate 34%. Median 10-year earnings $36,243.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $36,243, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 34% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $8,080 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.22 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 34% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 34% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Just 56% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Transfer-out runs to 12% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 39% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,514 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $9,400 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($5,940 versus $13,192), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid reaches 76% of students at an average of $5,136. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 7% of students.
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 · 357 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 | $5,940 |
| $30–48k | $6,486 |
| $48–75k | $8,836 |
| $75–110k | $11,967 |
| $110k+ | $13,192 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 248 of these 3,514 students, totalling $1,675,003 — an average of $6,754 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Humboldt 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)