Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Orange Coast College

Costa Mesa, CA · 7 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$183,452 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.

82.3 yrsModeled economic break-even
−88%Modeled 10-year ROI
$47,536Observed 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
−$183,452at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$208,8120
2
4
6
8
−$183,45210
Years after graduationBreak-even: 82.3 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$1,392
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$11,640
Sticker price
Average net price$7,203
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$15,561
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
Certificates
Campus setting
City
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

$7,203Average net price / year
$15,561Cost of attendance
$9,500Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$101/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$47,536Median earnings · year 5 after completion
47.6%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
16,091Student 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$5,562
$30–48k$6,354
$48–75k$9,216
$75–110k$11,890
$110k+$13,862
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$47,536
Year 6$35,739
Year 10$47,348
Full-time retention
73.8%
Part-time retention
50.6%
Completion within 200% of normal time
52.0%

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.

55thEarnings percentile
34thCompletion 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.

$53,829Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$6,955Median federal debt across categories that report debt
86%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$39,813Year 1
$49,927Year 4
$47,536Year 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.

1Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Associate's Degree$91,6822Engineering, General · Associate's Degree$73,2373Business Administration, Management and Operations · Associate's Degree$60,1934Communication and Media Studies · Associate's Degree$53,8295Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$46,4546Biological and Physical Sciences · Associate's Degree$41,7017Psychology, General · Associate's Degree$40,152

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.

Moreno Valley, CA

Moreno Valley College

Annual net price
$6,483
Observed earnings · year 5
$47,604
Modeled 10-year ROI
-87%
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San Jacinto, CA

Mt San Jacinto Community College District

Annual net price
$6,806
Observed earnings · year 5
$47,953
Modeled 10-year ROI
-86%
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Ukiah, CA

Mendocino College

Annual net price
$8,330
Observed earnings · year 5
$47,553
Modeled 10-year ROI
-88%
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Oceanside, CA

MiraCosta College

Annual net price
$7,339
Observed earnings · year 5
$46,348
Modeled 10-year ROI
-94%
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ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssociate's Degree$91,682$11,00016
Engineering, GeneralAssociate's Degree$73,237Not availableNot reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree$60,193Not availableNot reported
Communication and Media StudiesAssociate's Degree$53,829Not availableNot reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$46,454$6,955Not reported
Biological and Physical SciencesAssociate's Degree$41,701Not availableNot reported
Psychology, GeneralAssociate's Degree$40,152Not 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.