Public · Community college

Santa Monica College

Santa Monica, California · Small city

15%
Transfer rate
$2,779
Avg net price
36%
Grad / completion
$42,193
Median earnings

Santa Monica College is a public associate-granting institution in Santa Monica, California (small city setting), enrolling 21,440 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicLarge · 21,440 undergradsSmall cityCCCAANear the coast

About Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The Tongva are indigenous to the Santa Monica area. The village of Comicranga was established in the Santa Monica area. One of the village's notable residents was Victoria Reid, who was the daughter of the chief of the village. The Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome (carousel) is a National Historic Landmark. It sits on the Santa Monica Pier, which was built in 1909. The La Monica Ballroom on the pier was once the largest ballroom in the US and the source for many New Year's Eve national network broadcasts. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
To the ocean
1 mile
Nearest airport
6 miles to Los Angeles (LAX) · major hub

How Santa Monica College compares

Graduation rate36%

Higher than 21% · #323 of 382 in California

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,193

Higher than 77% · #103 of 326 in California

Average net price$2,779

Cheaper than 97% · #16 cheapest of 377 in California

Median debt at graduation$6,450

Lower than 87%

Student–faculty ratio27 : 1

Lower than 8%

Undergraduate enrollment21,440

Larger than 99%

Percentiles compare Santa Monica 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

21,440undergrads
  • Women11,58854%
  • Men9,85246%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White26%
  • Black9.2%
  • Hispanic41%
  • Asian8.2%
  • Other or multiracial16%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
21,440
Student–faculty ratio
27 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
26%
First-generation students
50%
Students over 25
33%
Median family income
$16,926
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$128,187
Endowment
$18,167,165

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 4,718 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From California77%
  • Other U.S. states9.2%
  • International14%

Most first-years stay in state — Santa Monica College draws overwhelmingly from California.

14% 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
$1,156
Out-of-state tuition
$10,708
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,746
Total cost of attendance
$11,162
Average net price
$2,779

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 (within 6 years)
36%
Graduated on time (4 years)
5%
First-year retention
Transferred to another college
15%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$31,977
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$42,193
Median debt at graduation
$6,450
Students with federal loans
3%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
40%

About 32% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
5%
First-generation
3%

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
407 (255 men · 152 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 (12)

Football96
Soccer64
Track and Field (Outdoor)48
Water Polo37
Volleyball32
Basketball28
Cross Country27
Beach Volleyball17
Softball16
Swimming and Diving (combined)15
Tennis14
Swimming13

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
11
Property offenses (2022–2024)
6

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (23,453 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.

5.7reported offenses a year
3.7 violent a year2.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Aggravated assault
2.7
Burglary
1.0
Fondling
0.7
Arson
0.7
Murder
0.3
Motor vehicle theft
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
$1,896
$30–48k
$2,442
$48–75k
$4,440
$75–110k
$7,087
$110k+
$8,395

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.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$23,546

$4,440/year × about 5.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

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.

1%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,223
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 1% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,223. 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 3,155 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)
$42,193
Typical debt at graduation
$6,450
Debt vs. one year's pay
15%
Out-earn a HS grad
40%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.5 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
$40,098
Men
$44,916

Men out-earn women by $4,818 (12%) 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
76°F
Winter low
48°F
Annual rain
13.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.63.3JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Santa Monica Muni AP, CA US station (1.1 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 Santa Monica College

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

Colleges near Santa Monica 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.