Public · Community college

Solano Community College

Fairfield, California · Midsize suburb

9%
Transfer rate: $4,669
Avg net price: 36%
Grad / completion: $44,170
Median earnings

Solano Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Fairfield, California (midsize suburb setting), enrolling 8,061 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 8,061 undergradsMidsize suburbCCCAANear the coast

About Fairfield, California

Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, United States, in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. A clipper ship captain from Fairfield, Connecticut, named Robert H. Waterman, parceled out the town in 1856. He entered Fairfield in the race for Solano County seat in 1858, and won it from Benicia. Recreation facilities and parks include Community Center, Adult Recreation Center, the Allan Witt Aquatics and Sports Complex, Dunnell Nature Park and Education Center, Laurel Creek Neighborhood Center, and Mankas Neighborhood Center. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Midsize suburb
Highest degree offered: Bachelor's
Nearest big city: 36 miles to San Francisco, CA
To the ocean: 8 miles
Nearest airport: 17 miles to Buchanan Field (CCR)

How Solano Community College compares

#28 · Cheapest Community Colleges

Graduation rate36%

Higher than 21% · #324 of 382 in California

Earnings, 10 years after entry$44,170

Higher than 81% · #79 of 326 in California

Average net price$4,669

Cheaper than 92% · #32 cheapest of 377 in California

Median debt at graduation$12,000

Lower than 29%

Student–faculty ratio27 : 1

Lower than 8%

Undergraduate enrollment8,061

Larger than 95%

Percentiles compare Solano 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 California.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women5,19664%
Men2,86536%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White21%
Black14%
Hispanic38%
Asian15%
Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 8,061
Student–faculty ratio: 27 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 23%
First-generation students: 48%
Students over 25: 35%
Median family income: $19,386
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $103,266

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 1,605 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From California100%

Most first-years stay in state — Solano Community College draws overwhelmingly from California.

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: $1,172
Out-of-state tuition: $9,812
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,062
Total cost of attendance: $13,143
Average net price: $4,669

Outcomes

Graduated: 36%
First-year retention: —
Transferred to another college: 9%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $35,071
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $44,170
Median debt at graduation: $12,000
Students with federal loans: 2%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 21%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

36%

First-generation

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: 142 (66 men · 76 women)

Varsity sports (8)

Baseball35

Basketball26

Soccer24

Tennis16

Volleyball12

Beach Volleyball11

Softball9

Swimming9

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

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 7

Reported offenses in an average year

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

2.3reported offenses a year

0 violent a year2.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

2.0

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

$3,624

$30–48k

$3,465

$48–75k

$5,904

$75–110k

$8,594

$110k+

$6,228

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?

Solano 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): $44,170
Typical debt at graduation: $12,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 27%
Out-earn a HS grad: 43%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.7 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

$40,900

Men

$49,422

Men out-earn women by $8,522 (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: 90°F
Winter low: 40°F
Annual rain: 24.5″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Fairfield, CA US station (3.9 mi from campus).

What Solano Community College graduates study — and earn

Biological and Physical SciencesAssoc.

354 grads— 1 yr$73k 5 yr— debt

354—$72,992—Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

262 grads— 1 yr$38k 5 yr— debt

262—$38,272—Biological and Biomedical Sciences, OtherAssoc.

168 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

168———Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

84 grads— 1 yr$69k 5 yr— debt

84—$69,217—Psychology, GeneralAssoc.

81 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

81———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsAssoc.

47 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

40 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

40———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

35 grads— 1 yr$97k 5 yr$11k debt

35—$97,217$10,500 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

27 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

27———Electromechanical Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

26 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

26———Biology, GeneralAssoc.

26 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

26———Electromechanical Technologies/TechniciansCert.

25 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

25———

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 Solano Community College

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

Golden West College

Public

Huntington Beach, California · Large suburb · 26 mi to Los Angeles

Students: 9,034
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $43k

Allan Hancock College

Public

Santa Maria, California · Midsize city · 55 mi to Santa Barbara

Students: 8,052
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 5%
Earnings: $43k

Citrus College

Public

Glendora, California · Large suburb · 21 mi to Los Angeles

Students: 8,286
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $42k

Butte College

Public

Oroville, California · Distant rural · 74 mi to Sacramento

Students: 8,890
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $42k

Folsom Lake College

Public

Folsom, California · Small city · 21 mi to Sacramento

Students: 9,414
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $43k

Cypress College

Public

Cypress, California · Small city · 20 mi to Los Angeles

Students: 13,354
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 10%
Earnings: $44k

Colleges near Solano Community College

InterCoast Colleges-Fairfield

Fairfield, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 183 students

< 1 mi

Napa Valley College

Napa, CA · Public · Associate · 3,813 students

9 mi

Hinton Barber and Beauty College

Vallejo, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 50 students

11 mi

Blake Austin College

Vacaville, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 217 students

11 mi

Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Vacaville

Vacaville, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 260 students

13 mi

Touro University California

Vallejo, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate · 23 students

13 mi

Cal Poly Maritime Academy

Vallejo, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 804 students

13 mi

Urban Barber College

Concord, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 224 students

19 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.