Start with intention
at Cerritos College in Norwalk
You're weighing whether to spend your first two years at Cerritos College before finishing a bachelor's degree elsewhere in California. That decision comes down to real numbers: what transfer actually looks like here, what you'll earn afterward, and what it costs you out of pocket.
~22,000 undergrads, 25% transfer out by year 8, median $41k 10-yr earnings, $8,447 median debt.
A solid Norwalk CC with real transfer momentum and low net cost
Cerritos College enrolls nearly 22,000 undergrads in Norwalk, California, and sends 25% of students to a four-year institution within eight years — right at the upper edge of the national community college range. Median earnings land at $41k ten years out, and median debt is $8,447, with a 0% three-year loan default rate. Liberal Arts and Business Administration each produce nearly 2,000 completions annually, giving transfer-bound students well-established paths. In-state tuition is $1,288 and net price is just $2,424, making the cost case hard to argue with.
Cerritos College is a community college in Norwalk, California, enrolling nearly 22,000 undergraduates — with 60% attending part-time, a pattern typical of commuter CCs in the Los Angeles metro. The college's largest programs by completions are Liberal Arts and Sciences (1,944) and Business Administration and Management (1,870), both of which are direct feeder fields for bachelor's-level transfer. Child Care Provider follows at 1,057 completions — a vocational track rather than a transfer-prep path, but it signals the breadth of what Cerritos serves. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 25%, which places Cerritos at or just above the national community college average. Median earnings ten years out are $41k, median debt is $8,447, and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. In-state tuition is $1,288 annually and net price is $2,424 — well below what most four-year institutions charge for a single semester. For a cost-conscious California student who enters with a transfer plan, the financial and outcome profile here is genuinely strong.
What this CC teaches at scale
| Program | Completions |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies. | 1,944 |
| Business Administration and Management, General. | 1,870 |
| Child Care Provider/Assistant. | 1,057 |
| Retail Management. | 590 |
| Welding Technology/Welder. | 214 |
| Psychology, General. | 185 |
| Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician. | 184 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | 176 |
| Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General. | 147 |
| Office Management and Supervision. | 100 |
Source · IPEDS completions (all undergraduate credentials).
Where California transfers tend to go
Reflects state-aggregated IPEDS transfer-in volume — CC-specific destinations are not publicly available from IPEDS or the College Scorecard.
Frequently asked
- Is Cerritos College a good place to start a bachelor's degree?
- For most transfer-focused students, the numbers support it. Cerritos posts a 25% eight-year transfer-out rate, which sits at the upper end of the national community college average. In-state tuition is $1,288 and net price is $2,424 — low enough that accumulating serious debt here is unlikely. Median borrower debt is $8,447, median earnings ten years after enrollment are $41k, and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. The two highest-volume programs — Liberal Arts and Sciences with 1,944 completions and Business Administration with 1,870 — are standard transfer-prep fields with well-developed advising infrastructure at this scale. The caveat: 60% of students attend part-time, which extends timelines. If you enter with a clear transfer plan and maintain full-time status where possible, Cerritos is a reasonable and affordable foundation.
- How does Cerritos College's transfer-out rate compare to typical community colleges?
- Cerritos's eight-year transfer-out rate is 25%. National research typically places the average community college transfer rate in the 15–25% range, so Cerritos lands at or just above that benchmark. The 25% figure is measured over eight years — and given that 60% of Cerritos students attend part-time, which extends completion timelines, it reflects a real pattern of students reaching and completing the transfer step rather than stalling out. An additional 1% were still enrolled at the eight-year mark, and 33% had completed a credential at Cerritos itself. Together, those figures suggest the college is functioning as a genuine feeder into the four-year system for a meaningful share of its students.
- What programs does Cerritos College offer at meaningful scale?
- Cerritos's two dominant programs by completions are Liberal Arts and Sciences (1,944) and Business Administration and Management (1,870) — both among the most common transfer-prep fields at California community colleges. Child Care Provider follows at 1,057 completions; that is a large vocational program, not a typical bachelor's transfer track. Retail Management produced 590 completions, Psychology 185, Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology 184, and Biological and Physical Sciences 176. Welding Technology had 214 completions and Cosmetology 147. The transfer story at Cerritos is concentrated in Liberal Arts and Business — those two programs alone account for a significant share of total completions and have enough volume that course availability, articulation advising, and institutional support are well-developed.
Methodology — Transfer signals reflect IPEDS Outcome Measures 8-year cohorts; earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard. Destinations are state-aggregated; we do not claim CC-specific transfer destinations without authoritative per-student tracking data.