Eastern New
Mexico University Ruidoso Branch Community College
Public Community College in Ruidoso, NM. Six-year graduation rate 29%. Median 10-year earnings $38,550.
Ten-year median earnings of $38,550 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 29% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $16,500, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 29% — below national average
Academics
Only 29% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. Retention is weak: only 33% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in three leave after one year. 17% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 11:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 409 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $4,239 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $75–110k bands is narrow ($736 versus $5,931), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is limited — 49% of students receive any. 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 · 46 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 | $736 |
| $30–48k | $2,495 |
| $48–75k | $5,724 |
| $75–110k | $5,931 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4 of these 409 students, totalling $30,787 — an average of $7,697 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lincoln 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)