Irvine Valley College
Public Community College in Irvine, CA. Six-year graduation rate 57%. Median 10-year earnings $49,156.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,156 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 57%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $6,500, a light load against those earnings. It also moves people — 2.3% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.13 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is middling: 57% finish inside six years. Retention of 79% 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. The part-time picture is harder: 44% return, against 79% full-time. A 31:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,577 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $5,821 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $734 while those at $110k+ pay $9,432. 49% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 1% 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 · 1,877 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 | $734 |
| $30–48k | $785 |
| $48–75k | $3,941 |
| $75–110k | $7,906 |
| $110k+ | $9,432 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 114 of these 9,577 students, totalling $756,270 — an average of $6,634 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Orange 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)