San Diego City College
Tuition, net price, admissions, and graduate salary · San Diego, California
Net price / year
$7,935
after grants & scholarships
lower than 83% of public 4-year colleges
Acceptance rate
Open admission
accepts most applicants
Median earnings
$40,124
4 years after graduating
lower than 99% of public 4-year colleges
San Diego City College at a glance
- What is the tuition at San Diego City College?
- In-state undergraduate tuition and fees are $1,146 for the 2024-25 academic year, or $10,002 for out-of-state students.
- What is the cost of attendance at San Diego City College?
- The average cost of attendance is $21,202 a year before financial aid (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses.
- What is the net price at San Diego City College?
- The average net price for in-state students is $7,935 a year after grants and scholarships (2023-24).
- What is the acceptance rate at San Diego City College?
- This school has open admission: most applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted.
- How much do graduates of San Diego City College earn?
- The median graduate earns $40,124 four years after finishing, among graduates working and not enrolled (2024 dollars).
Key takeaways
- This school has open admission, so most applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted.
- At $7,935 a year, the average net price is lower than 83% of public 4-year colleges.
- Families earning under $30,000 pay about $7,181 a year on average, versus $17,766 for families earning over $110,000.
- It would take about 10.1 years of the earnings premium over a typical high-school graduate to cover the estimated net cost (not counting income forgone while studying).
- Graduates earn a median $40,124 four years after finishing, less than 99% of public 4-year colleges.
Tuition and cost of attendance at San Diego City College
Average net price (in-state)
$7,935 per year
Cost of attendance minus average grants and scholarships, for first-time full-time students receiving federal aid.
Estimate your own price with the San Diego City College net price calculator ↗
Estimated total net cost
$31,740
Net price × 4 years, at today's prices and assuming on-time completion. Your actual cost depends on your aid.
Net price by family income
Average yearly net price for students receiving federal aid.
- $0–30k $7,181
- $30–48k $8,159
- $48–75k $10,265
- $75–110k $15,594
- $110k+ $17,766
Where the sticker price goes· Cost of attendance $21,202
- Tuition & fees$1,146
- Books & supplies$1,062
- Room & board$31,243
- Other expenses$4,968
- Tuition & fees (in-state)
- $1,146
- Tuition & fees (out-of-state)
- $10,002
San Diego City College acceptance rate and admissions
Open admission
The school admits most applicants who meet basic requirements.
Salary after graduating from San Diego City College
Typical monthly payment
$82
On a standard 10-year federal plan.
Years of earnings premium to cover cost
10.1 years
Net cost ÷ (graduate earnings − high-school graduate earnings). Excludes income forgone while studying and assumes today's earnings. A rough guide, not a prediction.
Earnings vs debt
Of graduates working and not enrolled, in 2024 dollars.
- Debt-to-earnings
- 0.2×Median debt divided by median earnings 4 years after graduating.
- Share of pay going to loans
- 2.4%
- 3-year loan default rate
- 0%
Outcomes by student group
The Scorecard reports some outcomes separately for groups of students. A group is left out when it is too small to report. These are school-level figures and say nothing about any individual student.
Earnings ten years after entry
All students who entered this college, whether or not they graduated, in 2022 dollars, ten years after entry.
Typical range: middle half of students
25th percentile $17,991 · median $38,503 · 75th percentile $58,814
Median by family income
Median by sex
This is not the same as the graduates' earnings shown above. It covers everyone who entered, including students who left without a degree, ten years after entry and in 2022 dollars. The graduates' figure covers only completers, four years after finishing, in 2024 dollars. Do not compare the two directly.
Data period: Students who entered in academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 (pooled), earnings measured in 2020 and 2021, 2022 dollars (Treasury).
Median federal student debt, by group
Median federal loan debt of students who borrowed, when they left school, by group.
By Pell Grant status
By first-generation status
By gender
Data period: Loans in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 (pooled, NSLDS).
Programs and majors at San Diego City College ranked by earnings
| Program | Earnings, 4 yrs after | Earnings over time | Compared with the U.S. median for this field | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Associate · Graduates: 51 | $113,244 | 4 yrs$113,2445 yrs$86,981 | U.S. median $80,813 U.S. middle half $61.1K–$103.8K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Biological and Physical Sciences Associate · Graduates: 25 Small sample | $77,094 | 4 yrs$77,0945 yrs$68,435 | U.S. median $50,181 U.S. middle half $32.5K–$73.8K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Fine and Studio Arts Associate · Graduates: 17 Small sample | $71,302 | — | U.S. median $31,650 U.S. middle half $18.3K–$44.4K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Communication and Media Studies Associate · Graduates: 22 Small sample | $60,716 | — | U.S. median $43,243 U.S. middle half $26.7K–$60.6K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations Associate · Graduates: 56 | $51,001 | 1 yr$33,3504 yrs$51,0015 yrs$52,169 | U.S. median $48,733 U.S. middle half $31.7K–$67.6K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Associate · Graduates: 43 | $50,465 | 4 yrs$50,4655 yrs$51,184 | U.S. median $44,758 U.S. middle half $27.5K–$65.1K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Associate · Graduates: 30 | $44,787 | 4 yrs$44,7875 yrs$39,525 | U.S. median $39,422 U.S. middle half $24.1K–$52.6K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Associate · Graduates: 83 | $39,081 | 1 yr$25,6394 yrs$39,0815 yrs$34,678 | U.S. median $44,125 U.S. middle half $28.9K–$61.6K · Below the U.S. median | — |
| Associate · Graduates: 47 | $37,754 | 4 yrs$37,7545 yrs$35,213 | U.S. median $39,288 U.S. middle half $24.8K–$53.2K · Below the U.S. median | — |
| English Language and Literature, General Associate · Graduates: 18 Small sample | $28,005 | — | U.S. median $36,134 U.S. middle half $21.9K–$50.7K · Below the U.S. median | — |
Earnings are for graduates working and not enrolled, 4 years after completing, in 2024 dollars.
The U.S. median and middle half (25th to 75th percentile) are for graduates of the same field and credential level at all colleges, 4 years after completing.
The 1-year, 4-year and 5-year figures come from different graduating cohorts and dollar years (1-year: AY2018-19 and AY2019-20 graduates, 2022 dollars; 4-year: AY2017-18 and AY2018-19 graduates, 2024 dollars; 5-year: AY2014-15 and AY2015-16 graduates, 2022 dollars), so read them as three separate measures, not a single career path.
Small samples are noisy: the Scorecard adds privacy noise to program figures and some rows are based on only a handful of graduates, so rows marked “small sample” can move a lot from year to year.
What students study
The largest fields among the degrees and certificates this college awarded, grouped by two-digit CIP code (the federal Classification of Instructional Programs). Fields under 1% are left out.
Share of degrees and certificates awarded, by field
A large share means many awards, not necessarily many students or higher earnings. Data period: Awards in academic year 2024-25 (IPEDS).
Who attends
A snapshot of the undergraduate student body as this college reported it to the federal government. Shares are shown as published; they can differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.
Race and ethnicity
- White 22.6%
- Black or African American 9.6%
- Hispanic or Latino 49.7%
- Asian 10.2%
- American Indian or Alaska Native 0.2%
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0.4%
- Two or more races 6.2%
- U.S. nonresident 0.1%
- Race and ethnicity unknown 1%
Federal reporting categories. Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents are counted as nonresident, and students who did not report are counted as unknown. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).
Gender
- Men 46.6%
- Women 53.4%
Federal reporting uses two categories. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).
Students aged 25 or older
39%
of undergraduates
Many adult students work or have families while enrolled. Data period: Fall 2023 (IPEDS).
Students and campus
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 10,441
- Part-time students
- 89%
- Receive Pell Grants
- 23%
- Receive federal loans
- 2%
- Students per faculty member
- 22 : 1
- Setting
- City
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Where it ranks
This college appears in the top 50 of these TuitionScope rankings.
Guides worth reading
Plain-language explainers that help you read the numbers on this page.
More in California
In California
National rankings
Frequently asked questions
How much is tuition at San Diego City College?
For the 2024-25 academic year, San Diego City College reported undergraduate tuition and fees of $1,146 for in-state students and $10,002 for out-of-state students. These are published prices before grants and scholarships; what you pay depends on your aid.
What is the cost of attendance and net price at San Diego City College?
The average cost of attendance at San Diego City College is $21,202 a year (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $7,935 a year. That is lower than 83% of public 4-year colleges.
How much financial aid do students at San Diego City College get?
23% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. 2% receive federal loans. The average net price runs from $7,181 a year for families earning under $30,000 to $17,766 for families earning over $110,000 (2023-24).
What is the acceptance rate at San Diego City College?
San Diego City College has open admission: it accepts most applicants who meet basic requirements.
How much do San Diego City College graduates earn after graduation?
The median graduate earns $40,124 four years after finishing, among graduates working and not enrolled in further study (2024 dollars). One year after finishing, the median is $27,254.
Is San Diego City College worth it?
There is no single answer: it depends on your major, your aid and whether you finish. For San Diego City College, the data shows this. The earnings premium over a typical high-school graduate would cover the estimated net cost in about 10.1 years of work. Graduates who borrowed have a median debt of $7,689, about 0.2 times their median earnings four years after finishing. These are averages, not predictions, and they do not count income forgone while studying.
How much debt do San Diego City College graduates have?
Graduates who borrowed have a median federal-loan debt of $7,689, or about $82 a month on a 10-year plan.
Which programs at San Diego City College lead to the highest earnings?
Among programs with reported data, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($113,244) and Biological and Physical Sciences ($77,094) lead to the highest median earnings four years after completing.
Sources and data periods
All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (June 2026 release). Periods differ by measure:
- Average net price: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
- Acceptance rate: Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
- Graduation rate: Fall 2018 or AcadYr 2018-19 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 pooled with previous years (# of total pooled years found in POOLYRS)
- Median earnings: Treasury AY2017-18, AY2018-19 pooled cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Median graduate debt: NSLDS FY2020, FY2021 pooled cohorts
Some figures are blank because the school did not report them or the group was too small to publish. How we calculate things