Public · Community college

Portland Community College

Portland, Oregon · Large city

#2 for grad earnings in Oregon

20%
Transfer rate: $10,405
Avg net price: 18%
Grad / completion: $44,592
Median earnings

Portland Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Portland, Oregon (large city setting), enrolling 19,531 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicLarge · 19,531 undergradsLarge cityNWAC

About Portland, Oregon

Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. During the prehistoric period, the land that would become Portland was flooded after the collapse of glacial dams from Lake Missoula, in what would later become Montana. Portland is home to a range of classical performing arts institutions including the Portland Opera, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Oregon Symphony and Portland Youth Philharmonic; the last of these, established in 1924, was the first youth orchestra established in the United States. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 6 miles to Portland, OR
To the ocean: 54 miles
Nearest airport: 12 miles to Portland (PDX) · major hub

How Portland Community College compares

Graduation rate18%

Higher than 3% · #35 of 37 in Oregon

First-year retention63%

Higher than 28%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$44,592

Higher than 82% · #2 of 33 in Oregon

Average net price$10,405

Cheaper than 69% · #10 cheapest of 35 in Oregon

Median debt at graduation$12,999

Lower than 23%

Student–faculty ratio19 : 1

Lower than 35%

Undergraduate enrollment19,531

Larger than 99%

Percentiles compare Portland 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 Oregon.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women10,86756%
Men8,66444%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White50%
Black5.7%
Hispanic23%
Asian8.1%
Other or multiracial13%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 19,531
Student–faculty ratio: 19 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 32%
First-generation students: 44%
Students over 25: 41%
Median family income: $21,961
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $90,657
Endowment: $19,129,411

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 4,119 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Oregon96%
Other U.S. states4.4%

Most first-years stay in state — Portland Community College draws overwhelmingly from Oregon.

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: $5,220
Out-of-state tuition: $10,440
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,707
Total cost of attendance: $17,934
Average net price: $10,405

Outcomes

Graduated: 18%
First-year retention: 63%
Transferred to another college: 20%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $37,160
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $44,592
Median debt at graduation: $12,999
Students with federal loans: 21%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 29%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

18%

Low-income (Pell)

14%

First-generation

14%

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: NWAC
Varsity athletes: 66 (36 men · 30 women)

Varsity sports (2)

Soccer42

Basketball24

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

Campus safety

Safety grade: B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.8 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 10
Property offenses (2022–2024): 39

Reported offenses in an average year

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

16reported offenses a year

3.3 violent a year13 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

6.7

Arson

3.3

Motor vehicle theft

3.0

Aggravated assault

2.3

Robbery

0.7

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

$8,937

$30–48k

$9,229

$48–75k

$11,327

$75–110k

$14,102

$110k+

$15,868

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?

Portland Community 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): $44,592
Typical debt at graduation: $12,999
Debt vs. one year's pay: 29%
Out-earn a HS grad: 51%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.9 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

$41,293

Men

$48,911

Men out-earn women by $7,618 (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: 82°F
Winter low: 34°F
Annual rain: 44.1″
Annual snow: 3.6″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Beaverton 2 Ssw, OR US station (4.5 mi from campus).

What Portland Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

2,053 grads$31k 1 yr$43k 5 yr$15k debt

2,053$30,852$43,197$15,334 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsCert.

247 grads— 1 yr$92k 5 yr— debt

247—$92,397—Precision Metal WorkingCert.

219 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

219———Accounting and Related ServicesCert.

127 grads— 1 yr$45k 5 yr— debt

127—$44,981—Computer/Information Technology Administration and ManagementCert.

106 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

106———Computer/Information Technology Administration and ManagementAssoc.

87 grads— 1 yr$65k 5 yr— debt

87—$64,804—Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCert.

87 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

87———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

83 grads— 1 yr$57k 5 yr— debt

83—$56,567—Design and Applied ArtsAssoc.

76 grads$26k 1 yr$46k 5 yr$18k debt

76$26,285$45,682$17,512 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

74 grads$48k 1 yr$65k 5 yr$13k debt

74$48,144$64,976$12,666 Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.

73 grads$46k 1 yr$41k 5 yr$13k debt

73$45,994$40,557$12,834 Computer ProgrammingCert.

70 grads— 1 yr$66k 5 yr— debt

70—$65,818—

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 Portland Community College

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

Chemeketa Community College

Public

Salem, Oregon · Large suburb · 40 mi to Portland

Students: 6,610
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 18%
Earnings: $41k

Linn-Benton Community College

Public

Albany, Oregon · Small city · 37 mi to Eugene

Students: 5,174
Tuition: $7k
Transfer: 17%
Earnings: $41k

Blinn College District

Public

Brenham, Texas · Distant town · 68 mi to Houston

Students: 15,535
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 34%
Earnings: $46k

Clackamas Community College

Public

Oregon City, Oregon · Large suburb · 14 mi to Portland

Students: 4,963
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 22%
Earnings: $43k

Lane Community College

Public

Eugene, Oregon · Large suburb · 4 mi to Eugene

Students: 6,064
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 18%
Earnings: $38k

San Jacinto Community College

Public

Pasadena, Texas · Midsize city · 17 mi to Houston

Students: 22,969
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $43k

Colleges near Portland Community College

Summit Salon Academy-Portland

Tigard, OR · Private for-profit · Certificate · 66 students

2 mi

Lewis & Clark College

Portland, OR · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,120 students

3 mi

Northwest College-Tualatin

Tualatin, OR · Private for-profit · Certificate · 35 students

4 mi

Oregon Health & Science University

Portland, OR · Public · Bachelor's · 836 students

5 mi

Northwest College-Beaverton

Beaverton, OR · Private for-profit · Certificate · 37 students

5 mi

National University of Natural Medicine

Portland, OR · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 41 students

5 mi

Portland State University

Portland, OR · Public · Bachelor's · 13,182 students

6 mi

Reed College

Portland, OR · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,320 students

6 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.