Public · Community college
Santa Ana College
Santa Ana, California · Large city
- 7%
- Transfer rate
- $3,133
- Avg net price
- 31%
- Grad / completion
- $43,552
- Median earnings
Santa Ana College is a public certificate-granting institution in Santa Ana, California (large city setting), enrolling 22,485 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.
About Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Members of the Tongva and Juaneño/Luiseño are indigenous to the area. The Tongva called the Santa Ana area "Hotuuk". The village of Pajbenga was located at modern day Santa Ana along the Santa Ana River. The Bowers Museum is art and history museum started in the 1930s with a large collection of fine art and artifacts from around the world and several traveling exhibits each year. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Bachelor's
- Nearest big city
- 29 miles to Los Angeles, CA
- To the ocean
- 10 miles
- Nearest airport
- 6 miles to John Wayne Orange County (SNA) · major hub
How Santa Ana College compares
Higher than 13% · #354 of 382 in California
Higher than 80% · #83 of 326 in California
Cheaper than 96% · #20 cheapest of 377 in California
Lower than 84%
Lower than 3%
Larger than 99%
Percentiles compare Santa Ana 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
- Women12,15854%
- Men10,32746%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White19%
- Black1.6%
- Hispanic53%
- Asian7.4%
- Other or multiracial19%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 22,485
- Student–faculty ratio
- 33 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 16%
- First-generation students
- 70%
- Students over 25
- 51%
- Median family income
- $22,576
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $119,205
- Endowment
- $14,392,316
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 3,462 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From California97%
- Other U.S. states1.9%
- International1.4%
Most first-years stay in state — Santa Ana College draws overwhelmingly from California.
1% 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
- $1,180
- Out-of-state tuition
- $10,756
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $1,126
- Total cost of attendance
- $12,375
- Average net price
- $3,133
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
- 31%
- First-year retention
- —
- Transferred to another college
- 7%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $36,845
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $43,552
- Median debt at graduation
- $6,871
- Students with federal loans
- 1%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 40%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- CCCAA
- Varsity athletes
- 310 (212 men · 98 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 (9)
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)
- 3
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 8
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 5 campuses (27,248 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?
Santa Ana 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)
- $43,552
- Typical debt at graduation
- $6,871
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 16%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 46%
Typical debt would take roughly 1.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $8,307 (21%) 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
- 85°F
- Winter low
- 48°F
- Annual rain
- 12.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Santa Ana Fire Stn, CA US station (1.6 mi from campus).
What Santa Ana 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 Santa Ana College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Santa Ana College side by side →
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, California · Small city · 13 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 21,440
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 15%
- Earnings
- $42k
Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California · Midsize city · 10 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 21,466
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 9%
- Earnings
- $44k
Modesto Junior College
Modesto, California · Midsize city · 26 mi to Stockton
- Students
- 15,109
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 9%
- Earnings
- $42k
Cerritos College
Norwalk, California · Large suburb · 14 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 18,870
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 9%
- Earnings
- $41k
San Joaquin Delta College
Stockton, California · Large city · 3 mi to Stockton
- Students
- 15,781
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 8%
- Earnings
- $43k
College of the Canyons
Santa Clarita, California · Large suburb · 31 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 15,832
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 11%
- Earnings
- $49k
Colleges near Santa Ana College
Santa Ana Beauty College
Santa Ana, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 99 students
Trinity Law School
Santa Ana, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
South Coast College
Orange, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 306 students
Thanh Le College School of Cosmetology
Garden Grove, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 43 students
American College of Healthcare and Technology-Santa Ana
Santa Ana, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 51 students
Coastline Beauty College
Fountain Valley, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 203 students
Santa Ana Beauty Academy
Santa Ana, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 35 students
Chapman University
Orange, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 7,478 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.











