Santa Monica College
Public Community College in Santa Monica, CA. Six-year graduation rate 36%. Median 10-year earnings $42,193.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $42,193 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 36% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $6,450, a light load against those earnings. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 4.4% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.15 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 36% graduate within six years. Transfer-out runs to 15% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. A 27:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate body runs to 23,164, large enough that student experience varies widely by program.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 21,194 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $5,685 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $1,896 at $0–30k against $8,395 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 54% of students receive grant aid, averaging $4,239 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 3% 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 · 3,242 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 | $1,896 |
| $30–48k | $2,442 |
| $48–75k | $4,440 |
| $75–110k | $7,087 |
| $110k+ | $8,395 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 730 of these 21,194 students, totalling $5,218,458 — an average of $7,149 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles 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)