Public · Community college

Grand Rapids Community College

Grand Rapids, Michigan · Midsize city

20%
Transfer rate
$8,621
Avg net price
21%
Grad / completion
$38,377
Median earnings

Grand Rapids Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan (midsize city setting), enrolling 10,698 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 10,698 undergradsMidsize cityNJCAA Division IICold wintersSnowy

About Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. After the French established territories in Michigan, Jesuit missionaries and traders traveled down Lake Michigan and its tributaries. In 1969, Alexander Calder's abstract sculpture, La Grande Vitesse, which translates from French as "the great swiftness" or more loosely as "grand rapids," was installed downtown on Vandenberg Plaza, the redesigned setting of Grand Rapids City Hall. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
Grand Rapids, MI
To Great Lakes shore
28 miles
Nearest airport
9 miles to Gerald R. Ford (GRR) · major hub

How Grand Rapids Community College compares

Graduation rate21%

Higher than 5% · #89 of 96 in Michigan

First-year retention59%

Higher than 22%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,377

Higher than 62% · #12 of 88 in Michigan

Average net price$8,621

Cheaper than 76% · #29 cheapest of 94 in Michigan

Median debt at graduation$9,000

Lower than 66%

Student–faculty ratio19 : 1

Lower than 35%

Undergraduate enrollment10,698

Larger than 97%

Percentiles compare Grand Rapids 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 Michigan.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

10,698undergrads
  • Women5,82454%
  • Men4,87446%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White56%
  • Black11%
  • Hispanic21%
  • Asian3.9%
  • Other or multiracial8.2%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
10,698
Student–faculty ratio
19 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
29%
First-generation students
41%
Students over 25
31%
Median family income
$29,713
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$86,274
Endowment
$16,988,800

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 2,820 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Michigan100%
  • Other U.S. states0.5%

Most first-years stay in state — Grand Rapids Community College draws overwhelmingly from Michigan.

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
$4,179
Out-of-state tuition
$12,219
Room & board
Books & supplies
$616
Total cost of attendance
$15,658
Average net price
$8,621

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
21%
First-year retention
59%
Transferred to another college
20%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$35,623
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$38,377
Median debt at graduation
$9,000
Students with federal loans
14%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
31%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
21%
Low-income (Pell)
19%
First-generation
19%

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 II
Varsity athletes
186 (106 men · 80 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 (7)

Soccer50
Baseball36
Basketball36
Cross Country19
Volleyball18
Softball16
Golf11

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.5 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
9
Property offenses (2022–2024)
8

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (12,468 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.

5.7reported offenses a year
3.0 violent a year2.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
2.0
Fondling
1.3
Aggravated assault
1.0
Rape
0.7
Motor vehicle theft
0.3
Arson
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
$7,373
$30–48k
$7,292
$48–75k
$8,362
$75–110k
$11,582
$110k+
$14,013

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.

15%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,058
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 15% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,058. 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 1,244 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)
$38,377
Typical debt at graduation
$9,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
23%
Out-earn a HS grad
43%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.3 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
$33,609
Men
$43,590

Men out-earn women by $9,981 (30%) 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
82°F
Winter low
17°F
Annual rain
39.6″
Annual snow
74.9″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.24.4JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, E Grand Rapids, MI US station (3.3 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 Grand Rapids Community College

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

Colleges near Grand Rapids 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.