Howard Community College
Public Community College in Columbia, MD. Six-year graduation rate 24%. Median 10-year earnings $49,020.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,020 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 24% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $10,500, 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 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 24% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 24% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 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. Transfer-out runs to 26% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The part-time picture is harder: 49% return, against 69% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,779 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $11,468 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 — $9,714 at $0–30k against $15,881 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 54% of students at an average of $4,021. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 9% of students.
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 · 797 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 | $9,714 |
| $30–48k | $9,924 |
| $48–75k | $12,198 |
| $75–110k | $14,104 |
| $110k+ | $15,881 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 628 of these 6,779 students, totalling $3,849,885 — an average of $6,130 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Howard 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)