Cuesta College
Public Community College in San Luis Obispo, CA. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $46,047.
Students who entered Cuesta College land at a median of $46,047 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate is 48%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $13,750.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.30 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 48%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. 73% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Retention drops to 39% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 27:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,879 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $16,541 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $10,414 at the $0–30k band to $18,448 at $110k+. 63% of students receive grant aid, averaging $3,776 — common but not automatic. 3% 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 · 514 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 | $10,414 |
| $30–48k | $10,905 |
| $48–75k | $15,150 |
| $75–110k | $16,620 |
| $110k+ | $18,448 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 184 of these 6,879 students, totalling $1,320,054 — an average of $7,174 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Luis Obispo 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)