Laney College
Public Community College in Oakland, CA. Six-year graduation rate 31%. Median 10-year earnings $37,282.
Ten-year median earnings of $37,282 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 31% graduate within six years.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 31% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 31% graduate within six years. Retention is weak: only 54% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. 17% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 30% return, against 54% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,158 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $17,741 annually once grants are applied. Income makes less difference than usual: $16,549 at $0–30k, $18,321 at $75–110k. 72% of students receive grant aid, averaging $2,716 — common but not automatic. 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 · 253 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 | $16,549 |
| $30–48k | $16,474 |
| $48–75k | $21,213 |
| $75–110k | $18,321 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 71 of these 7,158 students, totalling $532,102 — an average of $7,494 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Alameda 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)