Public · Community college

Garden City Community College

Garden City, Kansas · Remote town

16%
Transfer rate
$8,244
Avg net price
50%
Grad / completion
$41,704
Median earnings

Garden City Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Garden City, Kansas (remote town setting), enrolling 1,474 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,474 undergradsRemote townNJCAA Division ICold winters

About Garden City, Kansas

Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. In February 1878, James R. Fulton, William D. Fulton and W.D.'s son, L.W. Fulton, arrived at the present site of Garden City. Garden City Arts is a non-profit organization. Its gallery offers 10 to 12 exhibits per year along with internships and educational programming. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Remote town
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
193 miles to Wichita, KS
To the ocean
658 miles
Nearest airport
7 miles to Garden City (GCK)

How Garden City Community College compares

Graduation rate50%

Higher than 36% · #26 of 45 in Kansas

First-year retention67%

Higher than 39%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$41,704

Higher than 75% · #14 of 42 in Kansas

Average net price$8,244

Cheaper than 78% · #12 cheapest of 46 in Kansas

Median debt at graduation$6,500

Lower than 86%

Student–faculty ratio15 : 1

Lower than 56%

Undergraduate enrollment1,474

Larger than 78%

Percentiles compare Garden City 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 Kansas.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

1,474undergrads
  • Women64644%
  • Men82856%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White26%
  • Black8.3%
  • Hispanic48%
  • Asian2.4%
  • Other or multiracial15%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,474
Student–faculty ratio
15 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
29%
First-generation students
48%
Students over 25
12%
Median family income
$32,220
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$64,494
Endowment
$8,183,364

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 507 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Kansas68%
  • Other U.S. states22%
  • International9.7%

A regional draw: about 68% of first-years come from Kansas, the rest from elsewhere.

10% 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
$3,690
Out-of-state tuition
$4,320
Room & board
$6,800
Books & supplies
$420
Total cost of attendance
$15,071
Average net price
$8,244

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
50%
First-year retention
67%
Transferred to another college
16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$34,493
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$41,704
Median debt at graduation
$6,500
Students with federal loans
11%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
48%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
50%
Low-income (Pell)
27%
First-generation
28%

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
Yes
Dorm capacity
540
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
37%
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
356 (244 men · 112 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 (11)

Football74
Soccer51
Baseball45
Track and Field (Indoor)40
Track and Field (Outdoor)39
Basketball24
Softball21
Rodeo18
Cross Country16
Volleyball16
Golf12

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
3
Property offenses (2022–2024)
4

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (2,079 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.

2.3reported offenses a year
1.0 violent a year1.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
1.3
Aggravated assault
0.7
Rape
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
$6,672
$30–48k
$7,191
$48–75k
$9,191
$75–110k
$10,633
$110k+
$12,430

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.

66%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,548
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 66% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,548. 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 468 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)
$41,704
Typical debt at graduation
$6,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
16%
Out-earn a HS grad
46%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.6 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
$37,107
Men
$45,956

Men out-earn women by $8,849 (24%) 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
93°F
Winter low
17°F
Annual rain
19.6″
Annual snow
15.6″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.63.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Garden City Exp Stn, KS US station (2.5 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 Garden City Community College

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

Colleges near Garden City 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.