---
title: San Diego City College — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: San Diego, CA
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# San Diego City College

San Diego, CA · Public · Associate-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $38,503 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $17,991 – $58,814 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $4,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $4,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 30% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $21,202 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 52% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.12× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $10,503 | derived |

**30% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $4,500 (≈ 12% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $18,718 to $63,668 across 6 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Associate's Degree | $63,668 | not reported |
| Human Services, General. | Associate's Degree | $33,607 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Associate's Degree | $29,874 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Associate's Degree | $24,048 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Associate's Degree | $23,247 | not reported |
| Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services. | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $18,718 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore San Diego City College by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?122339

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/san-diego-city-college-ca.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`