Colorado Mountain College
Public Community College in Glenwood Springs, CO. Six-year graduation rate 28%. Median 10-year earnings $44,127.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,127 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 28% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $9,000, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.20 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 28% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 28% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 40% of full-time first-years return, so roughly three in five leave after one year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The 33% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. At 10:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,821 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $7,631 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $5,190 at the $0–30k band to $13,689 at $110k+. 55% of students receive grant aid, averaging $6,868 — common but not automatic. 16% 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 · 241 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 | $5,190 |
| $30–48k | $3,311 |
| $48–75k | $7,413 |
| $75–110k | $9,512 |
| $110k+ | $13,689 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 460 of these 2,821 students, totalling $2,512,302 — an average of $5,462 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Garfield 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)