Central Sacramento's CC
as a California transfer launchpad
You're deciding whether to spend your first two years at Sacramento City College before finishing a bachelor's elsewhere. That decision turns on hard numbers: the transfer-out rate, what you'll owe when you leave, and what earnings look like a decade out.
19,920 undergrads, 28% transfer out by year 8, median $42k 10-yr earnings, $10,500 median debt.
A mid-scale Sacramento CC with above-average transfer momentum and low debt
Sacramento City College enrolls 19,920 undergraduates in central Sacramento, with 77% attending part-time. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 28% — above the typical community college band — and another 26% complete a credential at SCC itself. Median borrower debt is $10,500 with a 0% three-year loan default rate, and median earnings ten years out are $42k. Net price lands at $6,614 annually. Liberal Arts and Sciences leads program volume at 247 completions, followed by Biological and Physical Sciences at 170 and Business Administration at 161. For a Sacramento-area student planning a bachelor's path, SCC is a credible, cost-manageable starting point.
Sacramento City College enrolls 19,920 undergraduates in central Sacramento, the flagship campus of the Los Rios district. Seventy-seven percent of students attend part-time, which stretches timelines and shapes the outcome picture. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 28% — a meaningful signal that students here do reach the transfer step — and another 26% complete a credential at SCC itself. Liberal Arts and Sciences leads program volume at 247 completions, with Biological and Physical Sciences (170), Business Administration (161), and Psychology (137) following; Registered Nursing sits at 51. Median earnings ten years after enrollment are $42,214. Median borrower debt is $10,500 with a 0% three-year loan default rate, and net price is $6,614 annually. For a Sacramento-area student aiming at a bachelor's, SCC offers real transfer infrastructure at manageable cost — provided you plan around the part-time timeline reality.
What this CC teaches at scale
| Program | Completions |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies. | 247 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | 170 |
| Business Administration and Management, General. | 161 |
| Psychology, General. | 137 |
| Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration. | 108 |
| Cosmetology/Cosmetologist, General. | 103 |
| Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping. | 90 |
| Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse. | 51 |
| Chemical Technology/Technician. | 50 |
| Sociology, General. | 50 |
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 Sacramento City College a good place to start a bachelor's degree?
- The numbers make a solid case. Sacramento City College's eight-year transfer-out rate is 28%, which lands above the typical 15–25% community college band — a real signal that students here move on to four-year institutions. Net price is $6,614 annually, and median borrower debt is $10,500 with a 0% three-year loan default rate, so the cost profile is genuinely manageable. Median earnings ten years after enrollment are $42,214. That combination — above-band transfer rate, low debt, reasonable earnings — makes SCC a credible starting point for a bachelor's in the Sacramento region, especially for students who can commit to a clear transfer plan. The 77% part-time attendance share is the main context to account for: part-time schedules consistently stretch timelines beyond the two-year ideal.
- How does Sacramento City College's transfer-out rate compare to typical community colleges?
- SCC's eight-year transfer-out rate is 28%. National research places the average community college transfer rate in the 15–25% range, so SCC sits above that band — a meaningful distinction given that 77% of its students attend part-time, a population that consistently shows lower transfer rates because life circumstances compete with academic momentum. An additional 1.3% of SCC students were still enrolled at the eight-year mark, and 26% had completed a credential at SCC itself. Taken together, the data frames SCC as a functioning transfer pipeline: more than a quarter of students move on, and another quarter finish a credential locally. For students who enter with a clear transfer plan and keep pace, the institutional signal is favorable.
- What programs does Sacramento City College teach at meaningful scale?
- SCC's top programs by completions are Liberal Arts and Sciences (247), Biological and Physical Sciences (170), Business Administration and Management (161), Psychology (137), and Criminal Justice (108). Cosmetology follows at 103 completions, Accounting Technology at 90, Registered Nursing at 51, Chemical Technology at 50, and Sociology at 50. The mix is transfer-heavy at the top — Liberal Arts, Sciences, Business, Psychology, and Sociology are all standard lower-division tracks for a four-year transfer — while Cosmetology, Accounting, Nursing, and Chemical Technology anchor a workforce-credential track. That breadth means students aiming at a bachelor's and students pursuing a direct-to-work credential both have real program infrastructure on this campus.
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.