Palm Beach
State College
Public Community College in Lake Worth, FL. Six-year graduation rate 41%. Median 10-year earnings $41,923.
Ten-year median earnings of $41,923 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 41% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates leave owing a median of $7,081 — 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 0.17 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 41%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Transfer-out runs to 19% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The 31:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 24,369 undergraduates puts this among the larger schools, which usually means more choice and less individual attention.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 20,532 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $9,577 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($8,131 versus $12,013), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 55% get grants averaging $5,037, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 13% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 2,540 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 | $8,131 |
| $30–48k | $8,675 |
| $48–75k | $10,862 |
| $75–110k | $13,902 |
| $110k+ | $12,013 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,669 of these 20,532 students, totalling $14,814,198 — an average of $5,550 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Palm Beach 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)