Diablo Valley College
Public Community College in Pleasant Hill, CA. Six-year graduation rate 49%. Median 10-year earnings $51,378.
Students who entered Diablo Valley College land at a median of $51,378 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Six-year completion sits at 49%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $10,021, 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
Academics
49% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Retention of 76% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 49% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 25:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 14,734 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $11,001 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $6,411 at $0–30k, $6,953 at $110k+. Only 47% of students receive grant aid, so most families are paying near the published price. Only 1% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 1,643 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 | $6,411 |
| $30–48k | $7,103 |
| $48–75k | $10,390 |
| $75–110k | $12,846 |
| $110k+ | $6,953 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 162 of these 14,734 students, totalling $1,305,837 — an average of $8,061 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Contra Costa County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Warning (Additional oversight is required to ensure a resolution of compliance issues); School has an accreditation issue
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)