Public · Community college

Hartnell College

Salinas, California · Midsize city

6%
Transfer rate: $2,039
Avg net price: 40%
Grad / completion: $44,316
Median earnings

Hartnell College is a public associate-granting institution in Salinas, California (midsize city setting), enrolling 9,453 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 9,453 undergradsMidsize cityCCCAANear the coast

About Salinas, California

Salinas is a city in and the county seat of Monterey County, California, United States. The Rumsen-Ohlone remained as the inhabitants of the area for approximately another 1,200 years, and in the 1700s, were the group of native inhabitants contacted and recorded by the first Spanish explorers of the Salinas area. Salinas has an emerging arts scene led by the First Fridays Art Walk and the innovative use of non-traditional or business venues to exhibit art and host live local music. The oldest gallery in Salinas, the Valley Art Gallery, has been active for over 30 years. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Midsize city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 47 miles to San Jose, CA
To the ocean: 6 miles
Nearest airport: 12 miles to Monterey (MRY)

How Hartnell College compares

#95 · Cheapest Community Colleges

Graduation rate40%

Higher than 26% · #300 of 382 in California

First-year retention73%

Higher than 51%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$44,316

Higher than 82% · #78 of 326 in California

Average net price$2,039

Cheaper than 98% · #10 cheapest of 377 in California

Student–faculty ratio22 : 1

Lower than 21%

Undergraduate enrollment9,453

Larger than 96%

Percentiles compare Hartnell 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

Women5,32256%
Men4,13144%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White15%
Black2.2%
Hispanic74%
Asian3.5%
Other or multiracial5.1%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 9,453
Student–faculty ratio: 22 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 32%
First-generation students: 65%
Students over 25: 24%
Median family income: $24,413
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $107,775
Endowment: $13,409,221

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

Cost

In-state tuition: $1,404
Out-of-state tuition: $10,374
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,062
Total cost of attendance: $11,892
Average net price: $2,039

Outcomes

Graduated: 40%
First-year retention: 73%
Transferred to another college: 6%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $36,065
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $44,316
Median debt at graduation: —
Students with federal loans: 0%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 27%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free
Athletics: CCCAA
Varsity athletes: 364 (230 men · 134 women)

Varsity sports (10)

Track and Field (Outdoor)77

Football58

Soccer56

Baseball39

Cross Country37

Basketball30

Swimming and Diving (combined)19

Softball18

Volleyball18

Beach Volleyball12

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

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 1

Reported offenses in an average year

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

0.3reported offenses a year

0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

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

$828

$30–48k

$465

$48–75k

$3,124

$75–110k

$6,856

$110k+

$9,885

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

$885

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 1% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $885. 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 1,070 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): $44,316
Typical debt at graduation: —
Debt vs. one year's pay: —
Out-earn a HS grad: 43%

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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

$39,833

Men

$49,431

Men out-earn women by $9,598 (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: 75°F
Winter low: 40°F
Annual rain: 15.4″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Salinas #2, CA US station (1.1 mi from campus).

What Hartnell College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

724 grads$20k 1 yr$43k 5 yr$7k debt

724$19,671$42,771$6,500 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

341 grads$23k 1 yr$48k 5 yr$6k debt

341$22,681$47,535$5,500 Psychology, GeneralAssoc.

93 grads— 1 yr$46k 5 yr— debt

93—$46,393—Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

87 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

87———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsAssoc.

62 grads$35k 1 yr$38k 5 yr— debt

62$34,648$37,575—Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/FitnessAssoc.

45 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

45———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

40 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

40———Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

40 grads$63k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

40$63,321——MathematicsAssoc.

30 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

30 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

30———Computer ProgrammingAssoc.

28 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

28———Romance Languages, Literatures, and LinguisticsAssoc.

26 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

26———

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 Hartnell College

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

Santiago Canyon College

Public

Orange, California · Midsize city · 26 mi to Riverside

Students: 10,579
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $45k

Irvine Valley College

Public

Irvine, California · Large city · 31 mi to Riverside

Students: 10,286
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $49k

San Joaquin Delta College

Public

Stockton, California · Large city · 3 mi to Stockton

Students: 15,781
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $43k

Modesto Junior College

Public

Modesto, California · Midsize city · 26 mi to Stockton

Students: 15,109
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $42k

Cerritos College

Public

Norwalk, California · Large suburb · 14 mi to Los Angeles

Students: 18,870
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $41k

Shasta College

Public

Redding, California · Midsize suburb · 148 mi to Sacramento

Students: 6,128
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $39k

Colleges near Hartnell College

Waynes College of Beauty

Salinas, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 46 students

2 mi

Central Coast College

Salinas, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 569 students

2 mi

CET-Salinas

Salinas, CA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 171 students

2 mi

California State University-Monterey Bay

Seaside, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 6,819 students

7 mi

Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey, CA · Public · Graduate

13 mi

Monterey Peninsula College

Monterey, CA · Public · Associate · 5,624 students

13 mi

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

Monterey, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 4 students

14 mi

CET-Watsonville

Watsonville, CA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 142 students

19 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.