Public · Community college

Massachusetts Bay Community College

Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts · Large suburb

26%
Transfer rate
$7,169
Avg net price
17%
Grad / completion
$52,654
Median earnings

Massachusetts Bay Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts (large suburb setting), enrolling 3,837 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 3,837 undergradsLarge suburbNJCAA Division IIICold wintersSnowyNear the coast

About Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts

Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley was settled in the 1600s as part of Dedham, Massachusetts. It was subsequently a part of Needham, Massachusetts, called West Needham. Wellesley is home to the headquarters of many local, national and global businesses including Benchmark Senior Living, Blank Label Apparel, Eagle Investment Systems, EPG Incorporated, GrandBanks Capital, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Livingston and Haynes PC, and Sun Life Financial U.S. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
11 miles to Boston, MA
To the ocean
11 miles
Nearest airport
11 miles to Laurence G Hanscom Field (BED)

How Massachusetts Bay Community College compares

Graduation rate17%

Higher than 3% · #49 of 52 in Massachusetts

First-year retention56%

Higher than 16%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$52,654

Higher than 93% · #8 of 34 in Massachusetts

Average net price$7,169

Cheaper than 82% · #7 cheapest of 52 in Massachusetts

Median debt at graduation$6,500

Lower than 86%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment3,837

Larger than 89%

Percentiles compare Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

3,837undergrads
  • Women2,09355%
  • Men1,74445%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White39%
  • Black17%
  • Hispanic28%
  • Asian4.7%
  • Other or multiracial11%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
3,837
Student–faculty ratio
16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
25%
First-generation students
43%
Students over 25
41%
Median family income
$26,618
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$78,453
Endowment
$5,662,973

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 932 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Massachusetts97%
  • Other U.S. states2.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Massachusetts Bay Community College draws overwhelmingly from Massachusetts.

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
$5,856
Out-of-state tuition
$10,800
Room & board
Books & supplies
$2,000
Total cost of attendance
$14,185
Average net price
$7,169

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
17%
First-year retention
56%
Transferred to another college
26%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$37,504
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$52,654
Median debt at graduation
$6,500
Students with federal loans
10%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
53%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
17%
Low-income (Pell)
17%
First-generation
17%

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 III
Varsity athletes
56 (37 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 (4)

Soccer18
Basketball15
Volleyball15
Cross Country8

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

Campus safety

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

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (4,578 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

Aggravated assault
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
$6,206
$30–48k
$5,813
$48–75k
$7,685
$75–110k
$9,767
$110k+
$13,317

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.

12%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,012
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 12% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,012. 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 386 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)
$52,654
Typical debt at graduation
$6,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
12%
Out-earn a HS grad
56%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.2 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
$51,064
Men
$54,856

Men out-earn women by $3,792 (7%) 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
18°F
Annual rain
47.3″
Annual snow
45.7″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Natick, MA US station (4.6 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 Massachusetts Bay Community College

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

Colleges near Massachusetts 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.