San Joaquin
Valley College-Modesto
For-profit Community College in Salida, CA. Six-year graduation rate 77%. Median 10-year earnings $38,317.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $38,317, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 77% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,674 — 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 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 77% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
77% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 83%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The 50:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation. As a for-profit two-year institution, outcomes here deserve a harder look than the sector average suggests: for-profit institutions vary enormously, and the sector's aggregate numbers hide both strong and very weak performers. At 982 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 982 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $25,950 annually once grants are applied. Net price varies modestly by income — $25,158 at $0–30k against $31,003 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 61% get grants averaging $4,672, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 65% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 416 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 | $25,158 |
| $30–48k | $25,741 |
| $48–75k | $27,122 |
| $75–110k | $29,754 |
| $110k+ | $31,003 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 643 of these 982 students, totalling $4,320,253 — an average of $6,719 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Stanislaus County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026