Santa Barbara
City College
Public Community College in Santa Barbara, CA. Six-year graduation rate 34%. Median 10-year earnings $47,647.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $47,647 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 34% graduate within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $11,000 — 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 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 34% — below national average
Academics
Only 34% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 65% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 25% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 51% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,070 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $14,186 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $9,333 while those at $110k+ pay $19,544. Grant aid is limited — 46% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 4% 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 · 1,821 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 | $9,333 |
| $30–48k | $10,868 |
| $48–75k | $11,536 |
| $75–110k | $15,381 |
| $110k+ | $19,544 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 428 of these 10,070 students, totalling $2,699,923 — an average of $6,308 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Santa Barbara 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)