River Parishes
Community College
Public Community College in Gonzales, LA. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $37,848.
Ten-year median earnings of $37,848 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Only 30% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates leave owing a median of $12,000 — 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 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 30% graduate within six years. Retention is weak: only 50% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 19% 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. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 28% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,828 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,582 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $9,922 at $0–30k against $15,779 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 67% of students at an average of $5,449. 37% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 456 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 | $9,922 |
| $30–48k | $9,548 |
| $48–75k | $11,534 |
| $75–110k | $13,977 |
| $110k+ | $15,779 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 677 of these 1,828 students, totalling $4,560,811 — an average of $6,737 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ascension Parish) — 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)