Rio Hondo College
Public Community College in Whittier, CA. Six-year graduation rate 25%. Median 10-year earnings $44,950.
Ten years after entry, the median Rio Hondo College student earns $44,950 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Only 25% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $5,500. It also moves people — 3.5% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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 0.12 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 25% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 25% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is strong at 100%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. At 31:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 15,365 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,449 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price varies modestly by income — $14,549 at $0–30k against $17,355 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Only 49% of students receive grant aid, so most families are paying near the published price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 1% 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 · 1,692 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 | $14,549 |
| $30–48k | $12,728 |
| $48–75k | $15,030 |
| $75–110k | $17,305 |
| $110k+ | $17,355 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 95 of these 15,365 students, totalling $599,228 — an average of $6,308 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles 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)