Public · Community college

Columbus State Community College

Columbus, Ohio · Large city

18%
Transfer rate: $8,400
Avg net price: 28%
Grad / completion: $39,435
Median earnings

Columbus State Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Columbus, Ohio (large city setting), enrolling 17,549 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicLarge · 17,549 undergradsLarge cityCold winters

About Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. Between 1000 B.C. and 1700 A.D., the Columbus metropolitan area was a center to indigenous cultures known as the Mound Builders, including the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient peoples. Remaining physical evidence of the cultures are their burial mounds and what they contained. Columbus has over 170 notable buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it also maintains its own register, the Columbus Register of Historic Properties, with 82 entries. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large city
Highest degree offered: Bachelor's
Nearest big city: 1 mile to Columbus, OH
To Great Lakes shore: 101 miles
Nearest airport: 5 miles to John Glenn Columbus (CMH) · major hub

How Columbus State Community College compares

Graduation rate28%

Higher than 10% · #149 of 168 in Ohio

Earnings, 10 years after entry$39,435

Higher than 67% · #67 of 157 in Ohio

Average net price$8,400

Cheaper than 77% · #23 cheapest of 155 in Ohio

Median debt at graduation$8,749

Lower than 68%

Student–faculty ratio18 : 1

Lower than 39%

Undergraduate enrollment17,549

Larger than 99%

Percentiles compare Columbus State Community College 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 Ohio.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women9,61955%
Men7,93045%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White40%
Black25%
Hispanic8.7%
Asian4.5%
Other or multiracial22%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 17,549
Student–faculty ratio: 18 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 26%
First-generation students: 44%
Students over 25: 23%
Median family income: $25,752
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $68,418
Endowment: $32,071,619

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

Where students come from

Home state of the 4,282 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Ohio97%
Other U.S. states0.7%
International2.8%

Most first-years stay in state — Columbus State Community College draws overwhelmingly from Ohio.

3% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition: $5,488
Out-of-state tuition: $11,224
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $2,000
Total cost of attendance: $13,381
Average net price: $8,400

Outcomes

Graduated: 28%
First-year retention: —
Transferred to another college: 18%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $36,895
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $39,435
Median debt at graduation: $8,749
Students with federal loans: 18%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 26%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

28%

Low-income (Pell)

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: $50

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 6
Property offenses (2022–2024): 24

Reported offenses in an average year

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

10reported offenses a year

2.0 violent a year8.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft

4.7

Burglary

3.3

Fondling

1.0

Robbery

1.0

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

$6,777

$30–48k

$7,161

$48–75k

$8,643

$75–110k

$11,660

$110k+

$12,985

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?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

19%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,297

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 19% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,297. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 1,929 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

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

Median earnings (10 years): $39,435
Typical debt at graduation: $8,749
Debt vs. one year's pay: 22%
Out-earn a HS grad: 47%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.2 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

$36,262

Men

$44,134

Men out-earn women by $7,872 (22%) 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: 85°F
Winter low: 21°F
Annual rain: 44.7″
Annual snow: 28.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Columbus Wcmh, OH US station (4.4 mi from campus).

What Columbus State Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

1,195 grads— 1 yr$40k 5 yr$13k debt

1,195—$40,452$13,082 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

408 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr$5k debt

408——$5,000 Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

270 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

270———Design and Applied ArtsCert.

245 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

245———Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCert.

192 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

192———Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsCert.

179 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

179———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

163 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

163———Real EstateCert.

162 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

162———Plumbing and Related Water Supply ServicesCert.

132 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

132———Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

130 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

130———Visual and Performing Arts, GeneralCert.

106 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

106———Fire ProtectionCert.

94 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

94———

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 Columbus State Community College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Columbus State Community College side by side →

Sinclair Community College

Public

Dayton, Ohio · Midsize city · < 1 mi to Dayton

Students: 13,308
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 16%
Earnings: $38k

Cuyahoga Community College District

Public

Cleveland, Ohio · Large city · 1 mi to Cleveland

Students: 13,382
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $36k

Riverside City College

Public

Riverside, California · Large city · 1 mi to Riverside

Students: 18,346
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $41k

Stark State College

Public

North Canton, Ohio · Large suburb · 15 mi to Akron

Students: 5,749
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 18%
Earnings: $35k

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

Public

Cincinnati, Ohio · Large city · 4 mi to Cincinnati

Students: 5,667
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 22%
Earnings: $40k

Wake Technical Community College

Public

Raleigh, North Carolina · Large suburb · 10 mi to Raleigh

Students: 19,675
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 18%
Earnings: $42k

Colleges near Columbus State Community College

Columbus College of Art & Design

Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 882 students

< 1 mi

Franklin University

Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 5,562 students

1 mi

Mount Carmel College of Nursing

Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 532 students

2 mi

Ohio State University-Main Campus

Columbus, OH · Public · Bachelor's · 45,638 students

2 mi

Capital University

Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,585 students

3 mi

Ohio Dominican University

Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 760 students

3 mi

Adult and Community Education-Hudson

Columbus, OH · Public · Certificate · 67 students

3 mi

Academia Medical Institute

Columbus, OH · Private for-profit · Certificate · 466 students

6 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.