Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Delaware County Community College

Media, PA · 19 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$135,474 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.

29.1 yrsModeled economic break-even
−66%Modeled 10-year ROI
$52,083Observed 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
−$135,474at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$206,3040
2
4
6
8
−$135,47410
Years after graduationBreak-even: 29.1 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$6,930
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$15,540
Sticker price
Average net price$6,576
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$13,530
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
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Main award level
Associate degrees
Campus setting
Suburban
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

$6,576Average net price / year
$13,530Cost of attendance
$13,250Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$140/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$52,083Median earnings · year 5 after completion
24.1%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
6,861Student 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$5,591
$30–48k$6,075
$48–75k$8,770
$75–110k$9,918
$110k+$10,603
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$52,083
Year 6$37,658
Year 10$45,391
Full-time retention
59.5%
Part-time retention
45.7%
Completion within 200% of normal time
24.9%

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.

66thEarnings percentile
7thCompletion 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.

$50,304Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$13,364Median federal debt across categories that report debt
63%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$42,896Year 1
$56,647Year 4
$52,083Year 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.

1Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$115,0912Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Associate's Degree$90,9633Criminal Justice and Corrections · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$88,6304Engineering, General · Associate's Degree$79,8505Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Associate's Degree$72,8326Business Administration, Management and Operations · Associate's Degree$55,8577Health and Medical Administrative Services · Associate's Degree$55,3288Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications · Associate's Degree$55,189

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

Strongest relative outcomes

Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark

This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential—not simply majors that pay more everywhere.

1Criminal Justice and CorrectionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $88,630 reported+54%vs same-degree national median$16,625federal debt2Health and Medical Administrative ServicesAssociate's Degree · $55,328 reported+49%vs same-degree national median$17,493federal debt3Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $115,091 reported+44%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree · $55,857 reported+15%vs same-degree national median$10,684federal debt5Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree · $90,963 reported+13%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt6Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssociate's Degree · $72,832 reported+11%vs same-degree national median$21,136federal debt
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in PA

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

Newtown, PA

Bucks County Community College

Annual net price
$6,389
Observed earnings · year 5
$51,200
Modeled 10-year ROI
-70%
Open college profile →
Monaca, PA

Community College of Beaver County

Annual net price
$6,937
Observed earnings · year 5
$49,182
Modeled 10-year ROI
-80%
Open college profile →
Frackville, PA

Schuylkill Technology Center

Annual net price
$6,797
Observed earnings · year 5
$46,077
Modeled 10-year ROI
-95%
Open college profile →
Schnecksville, PA

Lehigh Carbon Community College

Annual net price
$9,203
Observed earnings · year 5
$47,948
Modeled 10-year ROI
-86%
Open college profile →
ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$115,091Not available94
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree$90,963$27,0005
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$88,630$16,62564
Engineering, GeneralAssociate's Degree$79,850Not availableNot reported
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssociate's Degree$72,832$21,1361
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree$55,857$10,684Not reported
Health and Medical Administrative ServicesAssociate's Degree$55,328$17,4939
Computer Systems Networking and TelecommunicationsAssociate's Degree$55,189Not available1
Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralAssociate's Degree$50,503$11,000Not reported
Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$50,304Not available1
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, GeneralAssociate's Degree$49,487$13,364Not reported
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsAssociate's Degree$48,689$11,7004
Communication and Media StudiesAssociate's Degree$47,470$7,125Not reported
Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$45,622Not available4
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsAssociate's Degree$40,779$13,340Not reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$39,734$14,797Not reported
SociologyAssociate's Degree$39,381$11,500Not reported
Psychology, GeneralAssociate's Degree$37,761$17,500Not reported
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$36,934Not available12

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.