Metropolitan Community
College-Kansas City
Public Community College in Kansas City, MO. Six-year graduation rate 34%. Median 10-year earnings $40,796.
Ten-year median earnings of $40,796 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 34% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,073 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.25 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.1% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 34% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 34% graduate within six years. 67% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 15% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 39% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,412 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $9,002 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $7,279 at $0–30k, $13,171 at $110k+. About 58% get grants averaging $4,579, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 5% 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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 2,003 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 | $7,279 |
| $30–48k | $7,449 |
| $48–75k | $9,621 |
| $75–110k | $10,667 |
| $110k+ | $13,171 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 532 of these 10,412 students, totalling $3,383,619 — an average of $6,360 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Jackson 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)