Harrisburg Area
Community College
Public Community College in Harrisburg, PA. Six-year graduation rate 21%. Median 10-year earnings $42,007.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $42,007 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 21% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $17,500, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 21% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 21% graduate within six years. Just 54% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 23% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 44% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,802 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $12,059 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 — $11,685 at $0–30k against $18,290 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 49% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants. 40% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 878 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 | $11,685 |
| $30–48k | $12,788 |
| $48–75k | $14,644 |
| $75–110k | $16,995 |
| $110k+ | $18,290 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,918 of these 9,802 students, totalling $23,062,478 — an average of $5,886 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Dauphin 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)