Dutchess Community College
Public Community College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $43,929.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $43,929 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 30% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,039 — 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 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
Only 30% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 61% 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. 19% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. 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 3,697 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $9,612 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $6,141 while those at $110k+ pay $16,527. About 51% get grants averaging $6,912, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 23% 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 · 1,103 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 | $6,141 |
| $30–48k | $7,736 |
| $48–75k | $11,586 |
| $75–110k | $14,886 |
| $110k+ | $16,527 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 835 of these 3,697 students, totalling $4,844,735 — an average of $5,802 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Dutchess 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)