Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Copper Mountain Community College

Joshua Tree, CA · 1 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$141,820 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.

29.0 yrsModeled economic break-even
−66%Modeled 10-year ROI
$52,460Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
Includes direct price and earnings forgone while studying. Assumes $45,000 in alternative annual earnings and no wage growth. How we calculate it
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$141,820at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$216,4200
2
4
6
8
−$141,82010
Years after graduationBreak-even: 29.0 years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$1,390
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$13,570
Sticker price
Average net price$9,105
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$18,216
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Main award level
Associate degrees
Campus setting
Rural
Admissions
Open admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$9,105Average net price / year
$18,216Cost of attendance
Not availableMedian federal student debt · completer borrowers
Not availablePublished 10-year payment estimate
$52,460Median earnings · year 5 after completion
20.0%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
1,323Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$8,655
$30–48k$9,875
$48–75k$10,383
$75–110k$14,499
$110k+Not available
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$52,460
Year 6$28,840
Year 10$33,281
Full-time retention
67.1%
Part-time retention
36.8%
Completion within 200% of normal time
46.7%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

67thEarnings percentile
4thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$66,094Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
Not availableMedian federal debt across categories that report debt
100%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

Not availableYear 1
$53,634Year 4
$52,460Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Biological and Physical Sciences · Associate's Degree$66,094

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in CA

Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

Berkeley, CA

Berkeley City College

Annual net price
$9,096
Observed earnings · year 5
$51,428
Modeled 10-year ROI
-70%
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Sacramento, CA

Sacramento City College

Annual net price
$6,614
Observed earnings · year 5
$52,442
Modeled 10-year ROI
-64%
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Pittsburg, CA

Los Medanos College

Annual net price
$7,443
Observed earnings · year 5
$51,598
Modeled 10-year ROI
-69%
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Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Chaffey College

Annual net price
$5,672
Observed earnings · year 5
$52,671
Modeled 10-year ROI
-62%
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ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Biological and Physical SciencesAssociate's Degree$66,094Not availableNot reported

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.