Community College
of Allegheny County
Public Community College in Pittsburgh, PA. Six-year graduation rate 24%. Median 10-year earnings $39,449.
Ten-year median earnings of $39,449 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 24% graduate within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $12,680 — 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 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 24% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 24% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 63% 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 17% 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. The part-time picture is harder: 47% return, against 63% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,323 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $13,196 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($12,524 versus $19,491), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is limited — 41% of students receive any. 12% 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 · 1,382 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 | $12,524 |
| $30–48k | $13,255 |
| $48–75k | $14,623 |
| $75–110k | $17,788 |
| $110k+ | $19,491 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,140 of these 9,323 students, totalling $6,447,698 — an average of $5,656 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Allegheny 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)