Harford Community College
Public Community College in Bel Air, MD. Six-year graduation rate 39%. Median 10-year earnings $44,608.
Students who entered Harford Community College land at a median of $44,608 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is the weak point: 39% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $9,812, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.22 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.6 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 39% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 67% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. 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. 21% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 53% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,704 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,960 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $7,272 at $0–30k against $13,240 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Only 47% of students receive grant aid, so most families are paying near the published price. 13% 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 · 685 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 | $7,272 |
| $30–48k | $7,528 |
| $48–75k | $9,632 |
| $75–110k | $11,592 |
| $110k+ | $13,240 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 500 of these 3,704 students, totalling $2,805,173 — an average of $5,610 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Harford 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)