New Mexico
Junior College
Public Community College in Hobbs, NM. Six-year graduation rate 58%. Median 10-year earnings $34,233.
Ten-year median earnings of $34,233 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 58%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Graduates leave owing a median of $11,313 — modest by four-year standards. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 4.3% of students move from the bottom income quintile 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 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 58%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 70% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Transfer-out runs to 15% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 41% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,053 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $5,910 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $6,000 at $0–30k against $8,826 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 50% of students receive grant aid, averaging $2,641 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 2% 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 · 604 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 | $6,000 |
| $30–48k | $6,697 |
| $48–75k | $7,669 |
| $75–110k | $8,107 |
| $110k+ | $8,826 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 39 of these 2,053 students, totalling $124,263 — an average of $3,186 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lea 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)