Saddleback College
Public Community College in Mission Viejo, CA. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $50,874.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $50,874 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 48%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $9,500, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.19 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
48% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 77% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four 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. Retention drops to 39% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. A 27:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 15,962 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,122 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $2,596 at the $0–30k band to $10,603 at $110k+. Only 49% of students receive grant aid, so most families are paying near the published price. Only 1% 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 · 1,567 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 | $2,596 |
| $30–48k | $2,657 |
| $48–75k | $6,349 |
| $75–110k | $9,463 |
| $110k+ | $10,603 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 233 of these 15,962 students, totalling $1,508,766 — an average of $6,475 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Orange 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)