Utah's largest CC
as a Salt Lake City transfer starting point
You're deciding whether to spend your first two years at Salt Lake Community College before finishing a bachelor's elsewhere. That decision turns on real numbers: what the transfer-out rate actually looks like, what you'll owe when you leave, and what earnings look like a decade out.
27,437 undergrads, 27% transfer out by year 8, median $48k 10-yr earnings, $8,003 median debt.
Utah's largest CC with a real transfer-out rate and low debt profile
Salt Lake Community College enrolls 27,437 undergraduates across the Salt Lake City area, making it Utah's largest community college. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 27%, a strong mark even with 76% of students attending part-time. Median earnings ten years after enrollment are $47,867, and median borrower debt is $8,003 with a 0% three-year loan default rate. Liberal Arts and Sciences tops program volume at 1,116 completions, with General Studies at 804 and Computer and Information Sciences at 425. In-state tuition of $3,778 and a $9,804 net price make SLCC a cost-manageable starting point for Utah students aiming at a bachelor's.
Salt Lake Community College is Utah's largest community college, enrolling 27,437 undergraduates across the Salt Lake City metro. The transfer fundamentals here are stronger than the national CC average: 27% of students have transferred out by year 8, and another 28% completed a credential at SLCC itself. Liberal Arts and Sciences leads program volume at 1,116 completions, followed by General Studies at 804 and Computer and Information Sciences at 425 — a distribution that signals a heavy transfer-prep orientation. Median earnings ten years out are $47,867, median debt is $8,003, and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. Net price is $9,804 annually on $3,778 in-state tuition. For a Utah student weighing the transfer path, SLCC offers meaningful scale, a functional transfer pipeline, and a clean debt profile — though 76% of students attend part-time, which will stretch most timelines beyond two years.
What this CC teaches at scale
| Program | Completions |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies. | 1,116 |
| General Studies. | 804 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | 425 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | 267 |
| Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse. | 186 |
| Psychology, General. | 166 |
| Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide. | 116 |
| Truck and Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor. | 112 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | 99 |
| Criminal Justice/Safety Studies. | 70 |
Source · IPEDS completions (all undergraduate credentials).
Where Utah transfers tend to go
Reflects state-aggregated IPEDS transfer-in volume — CC-specific destinations are not publicly available from IPEDS or the College Scorecard.
| Destination | Transfers in |
|---|---|
| University of Utah | — |
| Brigham Young University | — |
| Utah State University | — |
| Southern Utah University | — |
| Westminster University | — |
| Midwives College of Utah | — |
Frequently asked
- Is Salt Lake Community College a good place to start a bachelor's degree?
- The numbers make a solid case. SLCC's eight-year transfer-out rate is 27%, which sits above the 15–25% national CC average and signals a genuine transfer pipeline despite 76% of students attending part-time. In-state tuition is $3,778 and net price is $9,804, keeping the cost side of the equation manageable. Median borrower debt is $8,003 with a 0% three-year loan default rate, and median earnings ten years after enrollment are $47,867. That combination — above-average transfer rate, low debt profile, mid-$40k earnings — makes SLCC a credible starting point for a bachelor's, especially for Utah residents who can lock in the in-state rate and enter with a clear transfer plan.
- How does Salt Lake Community College's transfer-out rate compare to typical community colleges?
- SLCC's eight-year transfer-out rate is 27%, which runs above the 15–25% range typical of community colleges nationally. An additional 1.7% of students were still enrolled at the eight-year mark, and 28% had completed a credential at SLCC itself — a combined 55% of students either transferred out or finished something by year 8. The 76% part-time attendance rate is worth weighing: part-time students consistently transfer at lower rates nationally because work and family compete with academic momentum, so SLCC's above-average figure reflects real transfer infrastructure pulling through a population that typically drags the number down. The data supports treating SLCC as a functional transfer-first CC, not just a feeder in name.
- What programs does Salt Lake Community College teach at meaningful scale?
- SLCC's top programs by completions are Liberal Arts and Sciences (1,116), General Studies (804), Computer and Information Sciences (425), Business/Commerce (267), and Registered Nursing (186). Psychology produced 166 completions, Nursing Assistant 116, and Truck and Bus Driver 112. Health Services and Allied Health came in at 99 and Criminal Justice at 70. The shape of that list matters: Liberal Arts and General Studies together represent nearly 2,000 completions, which is the signature of a heavily transfer-oriented CC — these are the associate tracks students complete when they intend to move on to a four-year school. Alongside that, Computer and Information Sciences, Business, and Nursing all run at real scale, offering both transfer-prep paths and direct-to-workforce options.
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.