Private for-profit · Community college

San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield

Bakersfield, California · Large city

0%
Transfer rate
$23,351
Avg net price
58%
Grad / completion
$38,317
Median earnings

San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Bakersfield, California (large city setting), enrolling 798 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 798 undergradsLarge city

About Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. Upon Spanish arrival, present-day Bakersfield was inhabited by the Yowlumne, a Yokuts people. Yowlumne accounts indicate that the village of Woilu was situated in the bounds of the present city. Bakersfield appears in the 1997 role-playing video game Fallout under the name of Necropolis. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
71 miles
Nearest airport
6 miles to Meadows Field (BFL)

How San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield compares

Graduation rate58%

Higher than 45% · #235 of 382 in California

First-year retention67%

Higher than 39%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,317

Higher than 61% · #170 of 326 in California

Average net price$23,351

Cheaper than 22% · #234 cheapest of 377 in California

Median debt at graduation$10,674

Lower than 38%

Student–faculty ratio19 : 1

Lower than 35%

Undergraduate enrollment798

Larger than 70%

Percentiles compare San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield 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

798undergrads
  • Women57772%
  • Men22128%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White14%
  • Black4.5%
  • Hispanic70%
  • Asian4.3%
  • Other or multiracial7.3%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
798
Student–faculty ratio
19 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
62%
First-generation students
59%
Students over 25
44%
Median family income
$15,708
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$62,901

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

Cost

In-state tuition
Room & board
Total cost of attendance
Average net price
$23,351

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
58%
First-year retention
67%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$36,007
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$38,317
Median debt at graduation
$10,674
Students with federal loans
71%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
24%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
58%
Low-income (Pell)
64%
First-generation
65%

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

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%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
3

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (798 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.

1.0reported offenses a year
0 violent a year1.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
0.7
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
$23,186
$30–48k
$19,339
$48–75k
$23,578
$75–110k
$27,534
$110k+
$27,534

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?

San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield 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)
$38,317
Typical debt at graduation
$10,674
Debt vs. one year's pay
28%
Out-earn a HS grad
42%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 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
$34,114
Men
$51,079

Men out-earn women by $16,965 (50%) 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
97°F
Winter low
38°F
Annual rain
6.7″
Annual snow
0.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°110°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.00.71.3JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Bakersfield 5 NW, CA US station (4.6 mi from campus).

What San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield 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 San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield side by side →

Colleges near San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield

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.