Public · Community college

College of Alameda

Alameda, California · Large suburb

11%
Transfer rate
$8,496
Avg net price
33%
Grad / completion
$42,563
Median earnings

College of Alameda is a public associate-granting institution in Alameda, California (large suburb setting), enrolling 4,487 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 4,487 undergradsLarge suburbCCCAANear the coast

About Alameda, California

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. Alameda originally occupied a peninsula connected to Oakland. The area was low-lying and marshy, while higher ground was part of one of the largest coastal oak forests in the world. A local band of the Ohlone tribe inhabited the region for more than 3,000 years. Photo-realist Robert Bechtle has painted numerous Alameda subjects, including Alameda Gran Torino, which was acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1974 and remains one of Bechtle's most famous works. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
1 mile
Nearest airport
5 miles to Oakland San Francisco Bay (OAK) · major hub

How College of Alameda compares

Graduation rate33%

Higher than 17% · #345 of 382 in California

First-year retention62%

Higher than 27%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,563

Higher than 78% · #95 of 326 in California

Average net price$8,496

Cheaper than 76% · #82 cheapest of 377 in California

Student–faculty ratio38 : 1

Lower than 2%

Undergraduate enrollment4,487

Larger than 90%

Percentiles compare College of Alameda 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

4,487undergrads
  • Women2,43654%
  • Men2,05146%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White17%
  • Black19%
  • Hispanic28%
  • Asian24%
  • Other or multiracial13%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
4,487
Student–faculty ratio
38 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
10%
First-generation students
56%
Students over 25
42%
Median family income
$14,595
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$104,139

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$1,258
Out-of-state tuition
$9,898
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,492
Total cost of attendance
$18,185
Average net price
$8,496

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
33%
First-year retention
62%
Transferred to another college
11%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$34,535
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$42,563
Median debt at graduation
Students with federal loans
1%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
18%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
33%
First-generation
8%

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
Free
Athletics
CCCAA
Varsity athletes
16 (16 men · 0 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (1)

Basketball16

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
4

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (6,141 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.3reported offenses a year
0 violent a year1.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
1.0
Motor vehicle theft
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

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
$7,947
$30–48k
$6,829
$48–75k
$11,225
$75–110k
$15,603
$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?

College of Alameda 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)
$42,563
Typical debt at graduation
Debt vs. one year's pay
Out-earn a HS grad
44%
Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$41,218
Men
$44,661

Men out-earn women by $3,443 (8%) 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
75°F
Winter low
45°F
Annual rain
22.6″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Oakland Museum, CA US station (1.5 mi from campus).

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 College of Alameda

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare College of Alameda side by side →

Colleges near College of Alameda

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.