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Public Community College

Honolulu Community College

Public Community College in Honolulu, HI. Six-year graduation rate 25%. Median 10-year earnings $45,105.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Honolulu Community College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$45,105
Median debt at grad
$7,534
Graduation rate
24.8%
Federal loan default
0%

The median ten-year earnings figure of $45,105 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 25% graduate within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $7,534.

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

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.17 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags
  • ! Graduation rate 25% — below national average

Academics

Full-time retention
55%
Transfer-out rate
16%
Student:faculty
18:1

A six-year graduation rate of 25% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Just 55% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Transfer-out runs to 16% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. At 18:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$7,870
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
37%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
7%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,897 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

At $7,870 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $6,672 at $0–30k against $12,959 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is limited — 37% of students receive any. Only 7% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.

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
50%
Average grant
$5,397

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 247 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 $6,672
$30–48k $5,990
$48–75k $8,768
$75–110k $9,031
$110k+ $12,959

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 142 of these 1,897 students, totalling $903,378 — an average of $6,362 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

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

Studio
$1,877/mo
1 bedroom
$2,016/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$2,642/mo

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

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
340
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Honolulu Community College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Honolulu 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 →