undergradly.
Public Community College

Los Angeles
City College

Public Community College in Los Angeles, CA. Six-year graduation rate 29%. Median 10-year earnings $36,190.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Los Angeles City College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$36,190
Median debt at grad
$12,750
Graduation rate
29.2%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered Los Angeles City College reach a median of $36,190 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Completion is the weak point: 29% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $12,750, 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.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags
  • ! Graduation rate 29% — below national average

Academics

Full-time retention
67%
Transfer-out rate
8%
Student:faculty
30:1

Only 29% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. 67% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. Retention drops to 27% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The 30:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$11,836
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
67%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
5%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,857 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $11,836 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $75–110k bands is narrow ($9,814 versus $14,784), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 67% get grants averaging $4,273, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 5% 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.

% receiving grants
75%
Average grant
$6,994

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 737 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 $9,814
$30–48k $10,076
$48–75k $11,783
$75–110k $14,784
$110k+

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 596 of these 10,857 students, totalling $5,079,604 — an average of $8,523 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

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

Studio
$1,863/mo
1 bedroom
$2,085/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$2,601/mo

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

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
254
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Los Angeles City College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Los Angeles City 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 →