San Diego
City College
Public Community College in San Diego, CA. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $38,503.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $38,503, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Completion is the weak point: 30% graduate within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $7,689.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.20 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 30% graduate within six years. 61% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five 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. 15% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 36% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,584 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,040 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $7,181 at the $0–30k band to $17,766 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 65% of students at an average of $5,715. 2% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 655 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 | $7,181 |
| $30–48k | $8,159 |
| $48–75k | $10,265 |
| $75–110k | $15,594 |
| $110k+ | $17,766 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 196 of these 10,584 students, totalling $1,162,240 — an average of $5,930 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Diego 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)