Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA · 19 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$212,268 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.

1721.8 yrsModeled economic break-even
−99%Modeled 10-year ROI
$45,124Observed 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
−$212,268at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$213,5080
2
4
6
8
−$212,26810
Years after graduationBreak-even: 1721.8 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$1,428
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$12,498
Sticker price
Average net price$8,377
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$16,911
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
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

$8,377Average net price / year
$16,911Cost of attendance
$8,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$85/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$45,124Median earnings · year 5 after completion
36.6%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
18,346Student 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$6,931
$30–48k$7,371
$48–75k$10,221
$75–110k$12,755
$110k+$13,880
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$45,124
Year 6$32,779
Year 10$41,091
Full-time retention
70.3%
Part-time retention
45.5%
Completion within 200% of normal time
38.3%

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.

49thEarnings percentile
20thCompletion 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.

$47,085Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$8,712Median federal debt across categories that report debt
63%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$29,382Year 1
$49,751Year 4
$45,124Year 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 · Associate's Degree$106,6182Precision Metal Working · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$67,3553Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$65,7874Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$59,4435Biological and Physical Sciences · Associate's Degree$54,7686Business Administration, Management and Operations · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$54,6897Business Administration, Management and Operations · Associate's Degree$52,2568Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants · Associate's Degree$51,585

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.

1Precision Metal WorkingUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $67,355 reported+38%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt2Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree · $106,618 reported+32%vs same-degree national median$11,000federal debt3Environmental Control Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $59,443 reported+31%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/FitnessAssociate's Degree · $50,923 reported+27%vs same-degree national median$8,046federal debt5Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $65,787 reported+17%vs same-degree national median$11,424federal debt6Business Administration, Management and OperationsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $54,689 reported+15%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
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.

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles City College

Annual net price
$10,261
Observed earnings · year 5
$44,813
Modeled 10-year ROI
-101%
Open college profile →
Oceanside, CA

MiraCosta College

Annual net price
$7,339
Observed earnings · year 5
$46,348
Modeled 10-year ROI
-94%
Open college profile →
Ukiah, CA

Mendocino College

Annual net price
$8,330
Observed earnings · year 5
$47,553
Modeled 10-year ROI
-88%
Open college profile →
Torrance, CA

El Camino Community College District

Annual net price
$5,968
Observed earnings · year 5
$45,339
Modeled 10-year ROI
-98%
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 NursingAssociate's Degree$106,618$11,0000
Precision Metal WorkingUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$67,355Not available15
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$65,787$11,42492
Environmental Control Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$59,443Not available34
Biological and Physical SciencesAssociate's Degree$54,768$8,712Not reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$54,689Not available366
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree$52,256$5,5000
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsAssociate's Degree$51,585Not available0
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/FitnessAssociate's Degree$50,923$8,046Not reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$47,085$9,317Not reported
SociologyAssociate's Degree$46,730$11,500Not reported
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsAssociate's Degree$44,951Not availableNot reported
Communication and Media StudiesAssociate's Degree$44,269Not availableNot reported
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$40,981Not available30
Psychology, GeneralAssociate's Degree$35,005$5,500Not reported
English Language and Literature, GeneralAssociate's Degree$34,561Not availableNot reported
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$31,235$8,93271
Culinary Arts and Related ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$21,397Not available14
Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$21,314$7,73692

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.