Wayne County
Community College District
Public Community College in Detroit, MI. Six-year graduation rate 22%. Median 10-year earnings $29,079.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $29,079, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 22% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,062.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 22% — below national average
Academics
Only 22% finish within six years, so roughly four in five students leave without the credential. 54% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. Transfer-out runs to 19% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 38% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,848 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $7,656 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $7,641 at $0–30k, $14,026 at $110k+. About 63% get grants averaging $4,718, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 12% 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 · 458 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 | $7,641 |
| $30–48k | $7,139 |
| $48–75k | $8,058 |
| $75–110k | $10,306 |
| $110k+ | $14,026 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 971 of these 7,848 students, totalling $5,766,610 — an average of $5,939 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wayne 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)