Hawkeye Community College
Public Community College in Waterloo, IA. Six-year graduation rate 43%. Median 10-year earnings $42,849.
Students who entered Hawkeye Community College land at a median of $42,849 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 43% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 43%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 63% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Transfer-out runs to 13% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 37% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,528 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $9,532 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 — $7,443 at $0–30k against $13,016 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 73% of students at an average of $5,416. About 44% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 665 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 | $7,443 |
| $30–48k | $8,151 |
| $48–75k | $8,859 |
| $75–110k | $10,316 |
| $110k+ | $13,016 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,102 of these 2,528 students, totalling $6,263,906 — an average of $5,684 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Black Hawk 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)