Public · Community college

Contra Costa College

San Pablo, California · Large suburb

10%
Transfer rate: $9,490
Avg net price: 28%
Grad / completion: $40,850
Median earnings

Contra Costa College is a public associate-granting institution in San Pablo, California (large suburb setting), enrolling 5,203 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 5,203 undergradsLarge suburbCCCAANear the coast

About San Pablo, California

San Pablo is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. In 1823, Mexican governor Luís Antonio Argüello granted the Ohlone territory to Francisco María Castro, an ex-soldier stationed at the San Francisco Presidio. The grant was given the name Rancho San Pablo. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large suburb
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 14 miles to San Francisco, CA
To the ocean: 2 miles
Nearest airport: 15 miles to Buchanan Field (CCR)

How Contra Costa College compares

#67 · Cheapest Community Colleges

Graduation rate28%

Higher than 10% · #362 of 382 in California

First-year retention72%

Higher than 47%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,850

Higher than 72% · #122 of 326 in California

Average net price$9,490

Cheaper than 72% · #90 cheapest of 377 in California

Student–faculty ratio22 : 1

Lower than 21%

Undergraduate enrollment5,203

Larger than 92%

Percentiles compare Contra Costa 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 California.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women3,20762%
Men1,99638%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White12%
Black14%
Hispanic47%
Asian16%
Other or multiracial10%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 5,203
Student–faculty ratio: 22 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 24%
First-generation students: 56%
Students over 25: 35%
Median family income: $14,339
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $98,379
Endowment: $9,952,126

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 834 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From California90%
Other U.S. states7.0%
International3.5%

Most first-years stay in state — Contra Costa College draws overwhelmingly from California.

4% 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: $1,312
Out-of-state tuition: $10,320
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,220
Total cost of attendance: $18,422
Average net price: $9,490

Outcomes

Graduated: 28%
First-year retention: 72%
Transferred to another college: 10%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $34,342
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $40,850
Median debt at graduation: —
Students with federal loans: 1%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 26%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free
Athletics: CCCAA
Varsity athletes: 127 (81 men · 46 women)

Varsity sports (4)

Soccer45

Baseball31

Basketball30

Volleyball21

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

Campus safety

Safety grade: B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 1.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 2
Property offenses (2022–2024): 21

Reported offenses in an average year

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

7.7reported offenses a year

0.7 violent a year7.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

6.0

Motor vehicle theft

1.0

Aggravated assault

0.7

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

$8,523

$30–48k

$8,111

$48–75k

$9,742

$75–110k

$14,269

$110k+

$9,567

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.

of first-years get a grant from the school

$946

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 4% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $946. 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 371 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): $40,850
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

$39,953

Men

$41,437

Men out-earn women by $1,484 (4%) 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: 44°F
Annual rain: 24.4″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Richmond, CA US station (4.1 mi from campus).

What Contra Costa College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

360 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

360———Biological and Physical SciencesCert.

270 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

270———Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

237 grads$29k 1 yr— 5 yr$11k debt

237$28,983—$11,079 Biological and Physical SciencesAssoc.

237 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

237———Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

92 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

92———Biological and Biomedical Sciences, OtherCert.

89 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

89———Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

63 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

63———Psychology, GeneralAssoc.

46 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

34 grads$101k 1 yr$135k 5 yr$12k debt

34$101,064$135,374$12,125 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

27 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

27———Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesAssoc.

26 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

26———SociologyAssoc.

20 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

20———

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 Contra Costa College

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

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Students: 4,456
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 19%
Earnings: $41k

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Monterey Peninsula College

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Earnings: $42k

Crafton Hills College

Public

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Students: 5,687
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $43k

West Los Angeles College

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Students: 7,284
Tuition: $1k
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Earnings: $39k

Lemoore College

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Lemoore, California · Fringe rural · 31 mi to Fresno

Students: 3,373
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 3%
Earnings: $40k

Colleges near Contra Costa College

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7 mi

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Berkeley, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate

8 mi

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Berkeley, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate

8 mi

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8 mi

Berkeley City College

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University of California-Berkeley

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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.