Portland Community College
Public Community College in Portland, OR. Six-year graduation rate 18%. Median 10-year earnings $44,592.
Students who entered Portland Community College land at a median of $44,592 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate is 18% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,999.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 18% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 18% graduate within six years. 63% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five 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. A 20% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The part-time picture is harder: 41% return, against 63% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,365 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $9,372 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $8,937 at $0–30k against $15,868 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 45% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 23% 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 · 2,134 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 | $8,937 |
| $30–48k | $9,229 |
| $48–75k | $11,327 |
| $75–110k | $14,102 |
| $110k+ | $15,868 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4,145 of these 18,365 students, totalling $24,601,800 — an average of $5,935 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Multnomah 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)