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Public Community College

Kauai Community College

Public Community College in Lihue, HI. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $36,868.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Kauai Community College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$36,868
Median debt at grad
$10,500
Graduation rate
47.5%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered Kauai Community College reach a median of $36,868 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 48%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,500 — modest by four-year standards.

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 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Academics

Full-time retention
61%
Transfer-out rate
10%
Student:faculty
11:1

Six-year completion sits at 48%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 61% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 48% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 11:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$9,771
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
69%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
4%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 726 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $9,771 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $75–110k bands is narrow ($10,495 versus $9,500), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 69% get grants averaging $4,980, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 4% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.

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
77%
Average grant
$6,209

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 70 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 $10,495
$30–48k $9,324
$48–75k $11,850
$75–110k $9,500
$110k+

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 31 of these 726 students, totalling $193,792 — an average of $6,251 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

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

Studio
$1,766/mo
1 bedroom
$1,777/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$2,332/mo

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

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
49
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Kauai Community College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Kauai 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 →