Private nonprofit · Community college

CET-Watsonville

Watsonville, California · Small city

0%
Transfer rate: $5,198
Avg net price: 83%
Grad / completion: $32,986
Median earnings

CET-Watsonville is a private nonprofit certificate-granting institution in Watsonville, California (small city setting), enrolling 142 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private nonprofitSmall · 142 undergradsSmall cityNear the coast

About Watsonville, California

Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. Watsonville's land was first inhabited by an Ohlone nation of Indigenous Californians. This tribe settled along the Pajaro Dunes since the land was fertile and useful for the cultivation of their plants and animals. Watsonville is home to the annual Strawberry Festival, which includes a wide variety of strawberry-based foods, live music, vendors, and rides. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Small city
Highest degree offered: Certificate
Nearest big city: 29 miles to San Jose, CA
To the ocean: 5 miles
Nearest airport: 24 miles to Monterey (MRY)

How CET-Watsonville compares

Graduation rate83%

Higher than 81% · #78 of 382 in California

First-year retention69%

Higher than 42%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$32,986

Higher than 42% · #221 of 326 in California

Average net price$5,198

Cheaper than 90% · #37 cheapest of 377 in California

Median debt at graduation$7,041

Lower than 83%

Student–faculty ratio24 : 1

Lower than 16%

Undergraduate enrollment142

Larger than 36%

Percentiles compare CET-Watsonville with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in California.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women4834%
Men9466%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White0.7%
Black0.7%
Hispanic97%
Other or multiracial1.4%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 142
Student–faculty ratio: 24 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 37%
First-generation students: 69%
Students over 25: 15%
Median family income: $13,272

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition: —
Room & board: —
Total cost of attendance: —
Average net price: $5,198

Outcomes

Graduated: 83%
First-year retention: 69%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $33,264
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $32,986
Median debt at graduation: $7,041
Students with federal loans: 10%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 29%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

83%

Low-income (Pell)

81%

First-generation

82%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: $100

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$4,468

$30–48k

$5,514

$48–75k

$2,895

$75–110k

$17,525

$110k+

—

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

CET-Watsonville funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.

Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $32,986
Typical debt at graduation: $7,041
Debt vs. one year's pay: 21%
Out-earn a HS grad: 33%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.1 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$25,978

Men

$38,374

Men out-earn women by $12,396 (48%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 74°F
Winter low: 39°F
Annual rain: 22.7″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Watsonville Wtr Wks, CA US station (0.1 mi from campus).

What CET-Watsonville graduates study — and earn

Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and Inspection

30 grads$28k 1 yr$32k 5 yr$6k debt

30$28,485$32,178$6,425 Precision Metal Working

26 grads$33k 1 yr$40k 5 yr$8k debt

26$32,817$40,269$8,424 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services

25 grads$32k 1 yr$33k 5 yr$7k debt

25$32,056$33,140$6,528 Health and Medical Administrative Services

6 grads$26k 1 yr$27k 5 yr$6k debt

6$25,727$27,237$5,900

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to CET-Watsonville

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare CET-Watsonville side by side →

CET-Santa Maria

Private

Santa Maria, California · Midsize city · 56 mi to Santa Barbara

Students: 142
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $33k

CET-Salinas

Private

Salinas, California · Midsize city · 45 mi to San Jose

Students: 171
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $33k

CET-Soledad

Private

Soledad, California · Distant town · 71 mi to San Jose

Students: 155
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $33k

CET-El Centro

Private

El Centro, California · Small city · 94 mi to San Diego

Students: 130
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $33k

CET-Oxnard

Private

Oxnard, California · Midsize city · 33 mi to Santa Barbara

Students: 95
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $33k

Rosedale Bible College

Private

Irwin, Ohio · Distant rural · 26 mi to Columbus

Students: 96
Tuition: $10k
Transfer: 4%
Earnings: $36k

Colleges near CET-Watsonville

Cabrillo College

Aptos, CA · Public · Associate · 8,002 students

10 mi

Gavilan College

Gilroy, CA · Public · Associate · 4,786 students

11 mi

Five Branches University

Santa Cruz, CA · Private for-profit · Graduate

13 mi

University of California-Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 17,940 students

17 mi

CET-Salinas

Salinas, CA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 171 students

17 mi

Central Coast College

Salinas, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 569 students

17 mi

Waynes College of Beauty

Salinas, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 46 students

17 mi

Hartnell College

Salinas, CA · Public · Associate · 9,453 students

19 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.