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Public Community College

Gavilan College

Public Community College in Gilroy, CA. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $47,169.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Gavilan College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$47,169
Mobility score
1.8
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
42.5%
Federal loan default
0%

The median ten-year earnings figure of $47,169 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 43%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish.

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

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Academics

Full-time retention
69%
Transfer-out rate
8%
Student:faculty
27:1

Six-year completion sits at 43%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 69% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. 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 39% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The 27:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$8,753
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
60%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,410 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $8,753 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $5,507 at $0–30k, $11,091 at $110k+. 60% of students receive grant aid, averaging $4,421 — common but not automatic.

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
83%
Average grant
$5,577

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 539 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 $5,507
$30–48k $5,759
$48–75k $7,716
$75–110k $10,512
$110k+ $11,091

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 12 of these 4,410 students, totalling $75,875 — an average of $6,323 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

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

Studio
$2,621/mo
1 bedroom
$2,982/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$3,483/mo

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

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
94
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Gavilan College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Gavilan 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 →