Skip to content
College Ledger

Statement · Santa Monica, CA

Santa Monica College

Public4-year · Associate's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid $1,896 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $11,162.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $42,193 ten years after entering, the 23rd percentile among public 4-years.

  3. 36% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Enrollment, 2023
32,856

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $11,162 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between $1,896 and $8,395 a year depending on income at Santa Monica College.

Statement of cost · Santa Monica College

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$11,162
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
$1,896
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$2,779
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$1,156

Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.

Net price by family income

Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.

Yearly net price by family income, in dollars

under $30k: $1,896; $30–48k: $2,442; $48–75k: $4,440; $75–110k: $7,087; over $110k: $8,395. Shaded band: middle half of public 4-years, from $8,778 to $16,425; dotted line at the median, $12,780.
  • Shaded: the middle half of public 4-years (all incomes), $8,778 to $16,425. Dotted line: the median, $12,780.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k$1,896
$30k–$48k$2,442
$48k–$75k$4,440
$75k–$110k$7,087
Over $110k$8,395

College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $42,193; the median graduate who borrowed owes $6,450.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$31,977
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$35,735
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
23rd percentile among public 4-years
$42,193
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
2nd percentile among public 4-years
$6,450
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$6,500

Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.

Earnings after entry

The shaded band is the middle half of public 4-years at 10 years: $42,655 to $60,720.

6 yrs after entry: $31,977; 8 yrs after entry: $35,735; 10 yrs after entry: $42,193. Median graduate debt: $6,450. Shaded band: middle half of public 4-years at 10 years, from $42,655 to $60,720; dotted line at the median, $50,178.
  • Shaded: middle half of public 4-years, 10 years out ($42,655 to $60,720); dotted line is the median.
  • Dashed: median graduate debt, $6,450.

Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Earnings after entry and graduate debt
MeasureDollars
Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry$31,977
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$35,735
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$42,193
Median graduate debt$6,450

College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records

What programs pay

Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.

What programs pay at Santa Monica College
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree2,960$38,658not reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma2,693not reportednot reported
Biological and Physical SciencesAssociate's Degree383not reportednot reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree311$58,293not reported
Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma199not reportednot reported
Psychology, GeneralAssociate's Degree191not reportednot reported
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma157not reportednot reported
Political Science and GovernmentAssociate's Degree140not reportednot reported
Accounting and Related ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma136not reportednot reported
Communication and Media StudiesAssociate's Degree135$62,391not reported
Fine and Studio ArtsAssociate's Degree88not reportednot reported
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesAssociate's Degree77not reportednot reported
Show all 20 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Design and Applied ArtsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma69not reportednot reported
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing OperationsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma68not reportednot reported
SociologyAssociate's Degree67not reportednot reported
Film/Video and Photographic ArtsAssociate's Degree67not reportednot reported
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree63$84,232not reported
EconomicsAssociate's Degree58not reportednot reported
Design and Applied ArtsAssociate's Degree52not reportednot reported
Accounting and Related ServicesAssociate's Degree51not reportednot reported

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

Santa Monica College: 21,440 undergraduates; 26% of students receive Pell grants.

Admission rate

not reported

Undergraduates

21,440

89th percentile among public 4-years

Pell share

26%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

30th percentile among public 4-years

Completion

36%

finish within 150% of normal time

30th percentile among public 4-years

First-generation

50%

parents did not attend college

Median family income

$16,926

6th percentile among public 4-years

Students by family income

Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.

  • Under $30k64%
  • $30k–$48k22%
  • $48k–$75knot reported
  • $75k–$110knot reported
  • Over $110knot reported
Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30k64%
$30k–$48k22%
$48k–$75knot reported
$75k–$110knot reported
Over $110knot reported

Similar schools

These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.

Sources & caveats

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.

not reported
Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
Percentiles
A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
Earnings
Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
  • U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
  • Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
  • Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.