El Camino
Community College District
Public Community College in Torrance, CA. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $41,589.
Students who entered El Camino Community College District reach a median of $41,589 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. 42% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. It also moves people — 3.1% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
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
Academics
42% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 73% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. The part-time picture is harder: 32% return, against 73% full-time. A 28:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,992 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,837 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $4,319 at the $0–30k band to $12,869 at $110k+. About 55% get grants averaging $4,874, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 1% of students.
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 · 2,493 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 | $4,319 |
| $30–48k | $5,149 |
| $48–75k | $8,298 |
| $75–110k | $11,546 |
| $110k+ | $12,869 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 96 of these 18,992 students, totalling $714,393 — an average of $7,442 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles 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)