Fort Worth's largest CC
as your path to a Texas bachelor's
You're weighing whether to spend your first two years at TCCD before transferring to a Texas four-year. That call depends on what the transfer-out rate actually is, what the cost looks like, and what earnings land at a decade out.
43,928 undergrads, 26% transfer out by year 8, median $43k 10-yr earnings, $9,104 median debt.
A 44k-student Fort Worth CC built around transfer-prep General Studies
Tarrant County College District enrolls nearly 44,000 undergraduates across the Fort Worth area — Texas's largest metro CC after Dallas and Austin. The eight-year transfer-out rate is 26%, a respectable mark given that 82% of students attend part-time. General Studies dominates program volume at 4,283 completions, a clear tell that TCCD functions primarily as a transfer-prep pipeline into the Texas four-year system. Median earnings ten years out are $43k, median borrower debt is $9,104, and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. In-district tuition is $1,728 and net price sits at $4,337 — among the lowest in the state — making TCCD a cost-efficient starting point for a Texas bachelor's.
Tarrant County College District enrolls 43,928 undergraduates across the Fort Worth metro — one of the largest community college systems in Texas. The dominant program by a wide margin is General Studies at 4,283 completions, which is the clearest possible signal that TCCD's main job is preparing students to transfer into the Texas four-year system. Business Administration (393) and Computer Security (268) are the next largest, followed by Registered Nursing (268) and Computer Science (222). The eight-year transfer-out rate is 26%, a credible figure given that 82% of students attend part-time. Median earnings ten years out are $43k, median borrower debt is $9,104, and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. In-district tuition is $1,728 and net price is $4,337 — TCCD's cost profile is among the lowest of any large CC in Texas, which is what makes the transfer path workable here.
What this CC teaches at scale
| Program | Completions |
|---|---|
| General Studies. | 4,283 |
| Business Administration and Management, General. | 393 |
| Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance. | 268 |
| Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse. | 268 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | 222 |
| Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician. | 88 |
| Sign Language Interpretation and Translation. | 85 |
| Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General. | 78 |
| Fire Science/Fire-fighting. | 76 |
| Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician. | 75 |
Source · IPEDS completions (all undergraduate credentials).
Where Texas 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 Tarrant County College District a good place to start a bachelor's degree?
- The numbers support it as a starting point. TCCD's eight-year transfer-out rate is 26%, which is functional for a CC of this scale, and General Studies at 4,283 completions makes clear that transfer-prep is the institution's primary throughput. The cost side is genuinely strong: in-district tuition is $1,728 annually, net price is $4,337, median borrower debt is $9,104, and the three-year loan default rate is 0%. Median earnings ten years out land at $43k. For a Fort Worth-area student planning to finish a bachelor's at UT Arlington, Texas State, Texas Tech, or another in-state four-year, TCCD offers a credible low-cost entry point — provided you enter with a transfer plan and understand that the 82% part-time population means your own timeline may stretch if you take the same approach.
- How does TCCD's transfer-out rate compare to typical community colleges?
- TCCD's eight-year transfer-out rate is 26%, which sits at the upper end of the typical community college band — national research places most CCs in the 15–25% range. An additional 1.6% of students are still enrolled at the eight-year mark, and 25% have completed a credential at TCCD itself. The 82% part-time attendance share is an important context factor: part-time students transfer at lower rates everywhere because life competes with academic momentum, which pulls the aggregate figure down. Taken together, the signal is that TCCD functions as a genuine transfer pipeline — students who stay on track do move through to a four-year — but the headline rate is dampened by the part-time-heavy mix. A full-time transfer-focused student at TCCD should expect outcomes above the 26% aggregate.
- What programs does Tarrant County College District teach at meaningful scale?
- General Studies dominates at 4,283 completions — more than ten times the next-largest program — which tells you TCCD is built around the transfer curriculum rather than terminal associate degrees. Business Administration follows at 393, then Computer and Information Systems Security at 268, Registered Nursing at 268, and Computer and Information Sciences at 222. The career-oriented tail includes Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance (88, reflecting the DFW aviation corridor), Sign Language Interpretation (85), Human Resources Management (78), Fire Science (76), and Automotive Technology (75). So TCCD serves two distinct populations at real scale: a very large transfer-prep cohort aiming at four-year degrees, and a smaller but substantive career-and-technical cohort across nursing, IT, aviation maintenance, and public safety.
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.