Public · Community college

Foothill College

Los Altos Hills, California · Large suburb

11%
Transfer rate: $7,653
Avg net price: 56%
Grad / completion: $57,072
Median earnings

Foothill College is a public certificate-granting institution in Los Altos Hills, California (large suburb setting), enrolling 11,137 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 11,137 undergradsLarge suburbCCCAANear the coast

About Los Altos Hills, California

Los Altos Hills is an affluent incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The earliest inhabits in the area were the Ohlone, who maintained multiple villages nearby. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large suburb
Highest degree offered: Bachelor's
Nearest big city: 13 miles to San Jose, CA
To the ocean: 7 miles
Nearest airport: 11 miles to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose (SJC) · major hub

How Foothill College compares

#6 · Community Colleges with the Highest Graduate Earnings

Graduation rate56%

Higher than 44% · #241 of 382 in California

Earnings, 10 years after entry$57,072

Higher than 95% · #21 of 326 in California

Average net price$7,653

Cheaper than 80% · #71 cheapest of 377 in California

Median debt at graduation$10,500

Lower than 42%

Student–faculty ratio26 : 1

Lower than 9%

Undergraduate enrollment11,137

Larger than 97%

Percentiles compare Foothill 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

Women6,74761%
Men4,39039%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White25%
Black3.2%
Hispanic34%
Asian25%
Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 11,137
Student–faculty ratio: 26 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 9%
First-generation students: 50%
Students over 25: 41%
Median family income: $19,671
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $106,335
Endowment: $13,223,848

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 2,045 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From California85%
Other U.S. states6.1%
International8.5%

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

9% 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: $1,565
Out-of-state tuition: $12,590
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,794
Total cost of attendance: $16,361
Average net price: $7,653

Outcomes

Graduated: 56%
First-year retention: —
Transferred to another college: 11%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $48,920
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $57,072
Median debt at graduation: $10,500
Students with federal loans: 2%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 37%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

56%

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: Free
Athletics: CCCAA
Varsity athletes: 184 (132 men · 52 women)

Varsity sports (6)

Football71

Soccer50

Basketball26

Swimming15

Tennis14

Badminton8

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): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 5

Reported offenses in an average year

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

1.7reported offenses a year

0 violent a year1.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

1.3

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

$6,571

$30–48k

$6,390

$48–75k

$9,389

$75–110k

$11,193

$110k+

$14,237

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

$858

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 7% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $858. 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 763 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): $57,072
Typical debt at graduation: $10,500
Debt vs. one year's pay: 18%
Out-earn a HS grad: 57%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.8 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

$55,644

Men

$59,025

Men out-earn women by $3,381 (6%) 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: 81°F
Winter low: 40°F
Annual rain: 42.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Skyline Ridge Preserve, CA US station (4.6 mi from campus).

What Foothill College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

323 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

323———Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

179 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

179———Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

109 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

109———Psychology, GeneralAssoc.

90 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr$6k debt

90——$5,500 Educational/Instructional Media DesignCert.

71 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

71———Dental Support Services and Allied Professions

54 grads$81k 1 yr— 5 yr$17k debt

54$81,255—$17,285 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

49 grads$107k 1 yr$140k 5 yr$12k debt

49$107,048$139,682$12,000 Computer ScienceAssoc.

45 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

45———Communication and Media StudiesAssoc.

42 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

39 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

39———Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, GeneralAssoc.

36 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

36———Plumbing and Related Water Supply ServicesCert.

35 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

35———

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 Foothill College

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

De Anza College

Public

Cupertino, California · Small city · 9 mi to San Jose

Students: 15,264
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 6%
Earnings: $57k

Moreno Valley College

Public

Moreno Valley, California · Large suburb · 12 mi to Riverside

Students: 9,346
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 6%
Earnings: $52k

Diablo Valley College

Public

Pleasant Hill, California · Large suburb · 23 mi to San Francisco

Students: 15,358
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 10%
Earnings: $51k

Ohlone College

Public

Fremont, California · Midsize city · 13 mi to San Jose

Students: 7,099
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $54k

Norco College

Public

Norco, California · Large suburb · 12 mi to Riverside

Students: 8,779
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $51k

Las Positas College

Public

Livermore, California · Small city · 26 mi to San Jose

Students: 7,299
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $51k

Colleges near Foothill College

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 14 students

4 mi

Sofia University

Palo Alto, CA · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 5 students

5 mi

Stanford University

Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 7,554 students

5 mi

De Anza College

Cupertino, CA · Public · Associate · 15,264 students

5 mi

Menlo College

Atherton, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 752 students

7 mi

University of East-West Medicine

Sunnyvale, CA · Private for-profit · Graduate

7 mi

Mission College

Santa Clara, CA · Public · Associate · 5,784 students

8 mi

The Salon Professional Academy-San Jose

San Jose, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 196 students

9 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.