Public · Community college
Los Angeles Southwest College
Los Angeles, California · Large suburb
- 13%
- Transfer rate
- $5,964
- Avg net price
- 34%
- Grad / completion
- $32,172
- Median earnings
Los Angeles Southwest College is a public associate-granting institution in Los Angeles, California (large suburb setting), enrolling 3,706 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. The historic center of Tongva power in the region was the settlement of Yaanga (Tongva: Iyáangẚ), meaning "place of the poison oak", which would eventually be the site where the Spanish founded the Pueblo de Los Ángeles. Iyáangẚ has also been translated as "the valley of smoke". Los Angeles is often billed as the creative capital of the world because one in every six of its residents works in a creative industry and there are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any other time in world history. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large suburb
- Highest degree offered
- Associate
- Nearest big city
- 9 miles to Los Angeles, CA
- To the ocean
- 7 miles
- Nearest airport
- 2 miles to Jack Northrop Field Hawthorne (HHR)
How Los Angeles Southwest College compares
Higher than 19% · #336 of 382 in California
Higher than 13%
Higher than 39% · #237 of 326 in California
Cheaper than 87% · #46 cheapest of 377 in California
Lower than 21%
Larger than 88%
Percentiles compare Los Angeles Southwest 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
- Women2,60770%
- Men1,09930%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White13%
- Black39%
- Hispanic39%
- Asian3.2%
- Other or multiracial6.5%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 3,706
- Student–faculty ratio
- 22 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 23%
- First-generation students
- 58%
- Students over 25
- 47%
- Median family income
- $11,780
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $101,250
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 707 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From California94%
- Other U.S. states3.3%
- International2.3%
Most first-years stay in state — Los Angeles Southwest College draws overwhelmingly from California.
2% 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
- $1,238
- Out-of-state tuition
- $10,572
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $1,062
- Total cost of attendance
- $13,624
- Average net price
- $5,964
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
- 52%
- Transferred to another college
- 13%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $28,065
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $32,172
- Median debt at graduation
- —
- Students with federal loans
- 1%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 17%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- CCCAA
- Varsity athletes
- 86 (74 men · 12 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 (2)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.7 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 4
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 8
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (5,371 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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?
Los Angeles Southwest College funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.
Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $32,172
- Typical debt at graduation
- —
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- —
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 32%
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.
Men out-earn women by $1,402 (4%) 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
- 79°F
- Winter low
- 49°F
- Annual rain
- 11.8″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Hawthorne Muni AP, CA US station (1.8 mi from campus).
What Los Angeles Southwest College graduates study — and earn
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 Los Angeles Southwest College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Los Angeles Southwest College side by side →
Cuyamaca College
El Cajon, California · Large suburb · 13 mi to San Diego
- Students
- 7,177
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 8%
- Earnings
- $32k
College of the Redwoods
Eureka, California · Fringe rural · 205 mi to Sacramento
- Students
- 3,829
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 12%
- Earnings
- $36k
Lake Tahoe Community College
South Lake Tahoe, California · Fringe rural · 43 mi to Reno
- Students
- 3,660
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 13%
- Earnings
- $37k
Reedley College
Reedley, California · Distant town · 20 mi to Fresno
- Students
- 5,504
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 5%
- Earnings
- $38k
Copper Mountain Community College
Joshua Tree, California · Distant rural · 67 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 1,323
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 10%
- Earnings
- $33k
Holmes Community College
Goodman, Mississippi · Remote rural · 49 mi to Jackson
- Students
- 3,958
- Tuition
- $4k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $33k
Colleges near Los Angeles Southwest College
Borner's Barber College
Los Angeles, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 54 students
UEI College-Gardena
Gardena, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 1,332 students
El Camino Community College District
Torrance, CA · Public · Associate · 19,210 students
Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 282 students
University of West Los Angeles
Inglewood, CA · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 7 students
Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology
Inglewood, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 411 students
ABCO Technology
Los Angeles, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 75 students
California State University-Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 12,538 students
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.