Public · Community college

South Suburban College

South Holland, Illinois · Large suburb

26%
Transfer rate
$3,242
Avg net price
28%
Grad / completion
$33,680
Median earnings

South Suburban College is a public certificate-granting institution in South Holland, Illinois (large suburb setting), enrolling 2,042 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,042 undergradsLarge suburbNJCAA Division IICold winters

About South Holland, Illinois

South Holland is a village and south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, within Thornton Township. Originally a general farming community, it later specialized in vegetable growing, especially onion sets. By the 1940s South Holland was known as the "Onion Set Capital of the World". (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
19 miles to Chicago, IL
To Great Lakes shore
9 miles
Nearest airport
11 miles to Gary/Chicago (GYY)

How South Suburban College compares

Graduation rate28%

Higher than 10% · #112 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention63%

Higher than 29%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$33,680

Higher than 45% · #64 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$3,242

Cheaper than 96% · #6 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Student–faculty ratio17 : 1

Lower than 44%

Undergraduate enrollment2,042

Larger than 82%

Percentiles compare South Suburban 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 Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

2,042undergrads
  • Women1,35967%
  • Men68333%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White11%
  • Black58%
  • Hispanic23%
  • Asian1.6%
  • Other or multiracial5.9%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
2,042
Student–faculty ratio
17 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
24%
First-generation students
45%
Students over 25
29%
Median family income
$16,067
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$77,040

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$5,093
Out-of-state tuition
$12,683
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$10,834
Average net price
$3,242

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
28%
First-year retention
63%
Transferred to another college
26%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$27,389
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$33,680
Median debt at graduation
Students with federal loans
0%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
28%
First-generation
8%

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
NJCAA Division II
Varsity athletes
126 (71 men · 55 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 (5)

Soccer44
Baseball32
Basketball25
Softball14
Volleyball11

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)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (3,818 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.

0.3reported offenses a year
0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

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
$2,722
$30–48k
$1,767
$48–75k
$5,371
$75–110k
$7,583
$110k+

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?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

30%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$3,262
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 30% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $3,262. 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 172 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)
$33,680
Typical debt at graduation
Debt vs. one year's pay
Out-earn a HS grad
33%
Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$33,649
Men
$33,733

Men out-earn women by $84 (0%) 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
84°F
Winter low
15°F
Annual rain
42.1″
Annual snow
28.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.54.9JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Park Forest, IL US station (8.3 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 South Suburban College

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

Colleges near South Suburban 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.