Public · Community college

Great Bay Community College

Portsmouth, New Hampshire · Small suburb

23%
Transfer rate
$15,768
Avg net price
34%
Grad / completion
$42,397
Median earnings

Great Bay Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (small suburb setting), enrolling 1,259 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,259 undergradsSmall suburbUSCAACold wintersSnowyNear the coast

About Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The first European to explore and write about the area was Martin Pring in 1603. The Piscataqua River is a tidal estuary with a swift current, but forms a good natural harbor. The Portsmouth Downtown Historic District encompasses the city's historic urban core and Market Square. The city has a vibrant restaurant culture. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
2 miles
Nearest airport
1 mile to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM)

How Great Bay Community College compares

Graduation rate34%

Higher than 17% · #12 of 14 in New Hampshire

First-year retention66%

Higher than 35%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,397

Higher than 77% · #6 of 9 in New Hampshire

Average net price$15,768

Cheaper than 48% · #9 cheapest of 13 in New Hampshire

Median debt at graduation$13,828

Lower than 18%

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 73%

Undergraduate enrollment1,259

Larger than 76%

Percentiles compare Great Bay 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 New Hampshire.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

1,259undergrads
  • Women74159%
  • Men51841%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White73%
  • Black3.2%
  • Hispanic8.6%
  • Asian4.5%
  • Other or multiracial10%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,259
Student–faculty ratio
12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
26%
First-generation students
35%
Students over 25
34%
Median family income
$35,818
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$69,642
Endowment
$771,916

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
$7,200
Out-of-state tuition
$15,450
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,400
Total cost of attendance
$21,963
Average net price
$15,768

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
34%
First-year retention
66%
Transferred to another college
23%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$39,867
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$42,397
Median debt at graduation
$13,828
Students with federal loans
23%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
49%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
34%
Low-income (Pell)
22%
First-generation
22%

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
USCAA
Varsity athletes
55 (36 men · 19 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 (5)

Basketball24
Baseball12
Volleyball10
Golf6
Track and Field (Outdoor)3

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (1,462 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.

0.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
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
$13,237
$30–48k
$21,132
$48–75k
$21,725
$75–110k
$20,829
$110k+
$21,963

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.

11%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$976
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 11% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $976. 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 154 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)
$42,397
Typical debt at graduation
$13,828
Debt vs. one year's pay
33%
Out-earn a HS grad
56%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.3 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
$39,504
Men
$46,467

Men out-earn women by $6,963 (18%) 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
80°F
Winter low
16°F
Annual rain
50.6″
Annual snow
65″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.55.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Greenland, NH US station (3.8 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 Great Bay Community College

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

Colleges near Great Bay 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.