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.
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
- Nearest big city
- 13 miles to Los Angeles, CA
- To the ocean
- 1 mile
- Nearest airport
- 6 miles to Los Angeles (LAX) · major hub
How Santa Monica College compares
Higher than 21% · #323 of 382 in California
Higher than 77% · #103 of 326 in California
Cheaper than 97% · #16 cheapest of 377 in California
Lower than 87%
Lower than 8%
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
- 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)
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)
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.
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.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$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.
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.
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 $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
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Santa Monica Muni AP, CA US station (1.1 mi from campus).
What Santa Monica 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 Monica College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Santa Monica College side by side →
Santa Ana College
Santa Ana, California · Large city · 29 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 22,485
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 7%
- Earnings
- $44k
Cerritos College
Norwalk, California · Large suburb · 14 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 18,870
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 9%
- Earnings
- $41k
Modesto Junior College
Modesto, California · Midsize city · 26 mi to Stockton
- Students
- 15,109
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 9%
- Earnings
- $42k
San Joaquin Delta College
Stockton, California · Large city · 3 mi to Stockton
- Students
- 15,781
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 8%
- Earnings
- $43k
Pasadena City College
Pasadena, California · Midsize city · 10 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 21,466
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 9%
- Earnings
- $44k
Santiago Canyon College
Orange, California · Midsize city · 26 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 10,579
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 12%
- Earnings
- $45k
Colleges near Santa Monica College
RAND School of Public Policy
Santa Monica, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Claremont School of Theology
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 33,475 students
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 7,094 students
Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,719 students
West Los Angeles College
Culver City, CA · Public · Certificate · 7,284 students
Otis College of Art and Design
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,223 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.












