undergradly.
Public Community College

Gadsden State
Community College

Public Community College in Gadsden, AL. Six-year graduation rate 38%. Median 10-year earnings $32,937.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Gadsden State Community College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$32,937
Mobility score
2.0
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
38.2%

Students who entered Gadsden State Community College reach a median of $32,937 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 38% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
Red Flags

Academics

Full-time retention
62%
Transfer-out rate
10%
Student:faculty
17:1

Completion is the problem here: 38% graduate within six years. First-year retention is 62% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 37% return, against 62% full-time. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$3,384
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
77%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,619 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Average net price is $3,384 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $3,438 at $0–30k against $8,944 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 77% of students at an average of $5,637.

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.

% receiving grants
89%
Average grant
$6,758

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 916 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 $3,438
$30–48k $2,617
$48–75k $5,330
$75–110k $6,081
$110k+ $8,944

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Etowah County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$639/mo
1 bedroom
$792/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$927/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
151
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Gadsden State Community College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Gadsden State Community College

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →