Northern Virginia
Community College
Public Community College in Annandale, VA. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $53,557.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $53,557 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 33% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $11,000, a light load against those earnings. On economic mobility, 2.5% of students travel 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 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 33% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 71% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Transfer-out runs to 16% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 53% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 31,647 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $9,627 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $7,463 while those at $110k+ pay $16,630. 42% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants. 12% 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 · 4,715 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 | $7,463 |
| $30–48k | $8,317 |
| $48–75k | $10,762 |
| $75–110k | $13,835 |
| $110k+ | $16,630 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,677 of these 31,647 students, totalling $19,636,586 — an average of $5,340 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Fairfax 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)