Public · Community college

Estrella Mountain Community College

Avondale, Arizona · Large suburb

12%
Transfer rate
$12,254
Avg net price
32%
Grad / completion
$44,356
Median earnings

Estrella Mountain Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Avondale, Arizona (large suburb setting), enrolling 4,512 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 4,512 undergradsLarge suburbNJCAA Division I

About Avondale, Arizona

Avondale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. William "Billy" G. Moore arrived in Arizona in the late 1860s, settling near the Agua Fria River in 1880. Moore called bought land and named his settlement "Coldwater, Arizona" - apparently for both the river and the water that flowed from a local spring. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
16 miles to Phoenix, AZ
To the ocean
157 miles
Nearest airport
20 miles to Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) · major hub

How Estrella Mountain Community College compares

Graduation rate32%

Higher than 15% · #54 of 72 in Arizona

First-year retention69%

Higher than 41%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$44,356

Higher than 82% · #10 of 61 in Arizona

Average net price$12,254

Cheaper than 61% · #18 cheapest of 70 in Arizona

Median debt at graduation$7,500

Lower than 80%

Student–faculty ratio25 : 1

Lower than 12%

Undergraduate enrollment4,512

Larger than 90%

Percentiles compare Estrella Mountain 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 Arizona.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

4,512undergrads
  • Women2,82563%
  • Men1,68737%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White23%
  • Black8.3%
  • Hispanic58%
  • Asian3.3%
  • Other or multiracial8.1%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
4,512
Student–faculty ratio
25 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
24%
First-generation students
54%
Students over 25
19%
Median family income
$27,266
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$92,898

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 1,577 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Arizona99%
  • Other U.S. states1.0%

Most first-years stay in state — Estrella Mountain Community College draws overwhelmingly from Arizona.

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
$2,358
Out-of-state tuition
$8,958
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,104
Total cost of attendance
$18,040
Average net price
$12,254

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
32%
First-year retention
69%
Transferred to another college
12%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$39,357
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$44,356
Median debt at graduation
$7,500
Students with federal loans
7%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
25%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
32%
Low-income (Pell)
5%
First-generation
6%

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
NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
13 (8 men · 5 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 (2)

Cross Country8
Golf5

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

Campus safety

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

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (10,109 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.

0.7reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
0.3
Burglary
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
$10,780
$30–48k
$11,281
$48–75k
$13,247
$75–110k
$15,695
$110k+
$17,197

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.

29%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,072
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 29% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,072. 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 903 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)
$44,356
Typical debt at graduation
$7,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
17%
Out-earn a HS grad
49%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.7 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
$42,334
Men
$48,327

Men out-earn women by $5,993 (14%) 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
106°F
Winter low
42°F
Annual rain
8.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°80°120°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.00.61.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Litchfield Park, AZ US station (1.7 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 Estrella Mountain Community College

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

Colleges near Estrella Mountain Community College

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.