Santiago Canyon College
Public Community College in Orange, CA. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $44,956.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,956 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 48%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates leave owing a median of $5,125 — 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 0.11 — 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. Retention of 71% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 40% return, against 71% full-time. At 34:1, instructor access is thin — worth probing on a campus visit.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 10,613 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,573 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 $-219 at the $0–30k band to $11,014 at $110k+. Only 34% 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 · 889 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 | $-219 |
| $30–48k | $454 |
| $48–75k | $4,833 |
| $75–110k | $9,373 |
| $110k+ | $11,014 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 73 of these 10,613 students, totalling $706,211 — an average of $9,674 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)