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Rio Hondo College

Whittier, CA

Rio Hondo College at a glance

Rio Hondo College is a public university in Whittier, California with 17,441 students (IPEDS, fall 2024 enrollment). It has an open admission policy (IPEDS, admission policy reported in the 2024-25 IC collection). Its published in-state tuition is $1,388 (IPEDS, charges for academic year 2024-25); students who received federal aid paid an average net price of $14,379 a year after grants (College Scorecard, a prior cohort). 25% of students finish within the federal tracking window (IPEDS, Graduation Rates 2024 collection: 4-year cohort 2018, 2-year cohort 2021); 1% of students take federal loans, and borrowers leave with a median $5,500 (College Scorecard). Its Nursing (RN), associate's graduates earn a median $113,902 four years after finishing (College Scorecard, 2017-19 graduates).

Tuition

$1,388

2024-25

Acceptance

Open admission

2024-25

Students

17,441

Fall 2024

Type

University

Setting

Rural

Cost & Financial Aid

In-State Tuition

$1,388

Out-of-State Tuition

$9,884

Avg On-Campus Living

Not available

Avg Off-Campus Living

$22,086

Financial Aid & Outcomes

College Scorecard

What will it actually cost?

Sticker price: $1,388
Net price (after aid): $14,379

Most students pay the net price after financial aid, not the sticker price.

Net price by family income

$0 – $30k: $14,549
$30k – $48k: $12,728
$48k – $75k: $15,030
$75k – $110k: $17,305
$110k+: $11,240

Can federal loans cover it? (2026 limits)

At every income level reported here, the average net price is within the $25,500 a first-year dependent student and their parents can borrow from the federal government for loans made from 1 July 2026.

The ceiling is $5,500 in the student’s own Direct Loan plus up to $20,000 in Parent PLUS, which requires that the parent has no adverse credit history. Net prices are averages for a prior cohort of aid recipients, not a quote. Source: Federal Student Aid loan limits. Where this gap is largest.

After graduation

Median earnings (10yr): $44,950
Median debt at graduation: $5,500
Est. monthly loan payment: $58

Earnings-to-debt ratio

Strong · 8.2×

Graduates earn about 8.2× their median debt every year.

Financial access

Students on Pell Grants: 26%

Pell Grants are federal aid for students from low-income families.

Students with federal loans: 1%

Share of students who borrowed to pay for school.

Some fields may not be reported by this institution. Verify final details with the school directly.

How does cost line up with outcomes across colleges? See our analysis of college cost vs. graduation and earnings, an association shaped by selectivity and sector, not proof a pricier college pays off.

FAFSA earnings check

: Not flagged

Rio Hondo College does not trigger the FAFSA's "lower earnings" notice. Its graduates' median earnings four years after completing were $58,402, above the $36,565 median for high school graduates aged 25 to 34 in California.

This is one figure for the whole institution, not for any program: earnings differ by credential and field. It covers graduates who completed in 2017-18 and 2018-19, received federal aid, and were working and not enrolled when earnings were measured in 2022 and 2023, in January 2026 dollars. The Department says the notice is informational only: it does not change aid eligibility. Source: U.S. Department of Education, FSA Data Center, March 2026 release. Which colleges are flagged, and what changed.

Which California schools are flagged now

Student Outcomes

Graduation Rate

25%

Freshman Retention

100%

Source: IPEDS, charges for academic year 2024-25 (provisional release)

Final aid offers, scholarships, and net price vary per family. Always verify with the school's financial aid office.

Scholarships available

Decision support · Cost & value

Quick Decision Highlights

The strongest cost, aid, and value reasons to consider this school.

Cost advantage

Affordable public option

In-state tuition in the lower range for public universities.

This school$1.4k
Public 4-yr avg$11k
Source: IPEDS 2024

Lower net price

$14.4k below avg

Out-of-state value

$9.9k below avg

Manageable graduate debt

$5.5k below avg

Affordability snapshot

In-state tuition

$1.4k

below avg

Out-of-state

$9.9k

below avg

Net price

$14.4k

below avg

Pell

26%

Median debt

$5.5k

below avg

Earnings (10y)

$45k

“Avg” comparisons reference national IPEDS / College Scorecard averages (~2022–23); figures are directional and vary by school and year.

Admissions

Acceptance rate

Open admission

SAT range

Institution does not report this

Institution does not report this

ACT range

Institution does not report this

Institution does not report this

Source: IPEDS, open-admission policy reported for 2024-25 (final (revised) release)

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Location

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UniversitiesCommunity Colleges1 school

Institution does not report this

Whittier, CA 90601

Academics

Studying online: a large share study entirely online

In Fall 2023, 4,670 of Rio Hondo College's 17,193 students (27%) were enrolled entirely at a distance. A further 3,652 (21%) took at least one distance course alongside in-person study.

Distance-education figures count STUDENTS enrolled in Fall 2023, not programs on offer. "Exclusively at a distance" means a student took only distance courses that term. A college with few or no such students may still run online courses or an online degree, so a low figure is not evidence that online study is unavailable, and a high one is not a judgement of quality either way.

U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Fall Enrollment (distance education status), Fall 2023

Fields of study

Rio Hondo College reported conferring credentials in 71 different fields to the federal government. See which ones, and at what credential level.

Campus & Student Life

Area Safety Rating

Decision support

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Graduate earnings by program

What Rio Hondo College graduates earn, by program

Rio Hondo College's associate's graduates in Nursing (RN) earned a median $113,902 four years after graduating, 41% above the $80,813 national median for the same program (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard). One year after graduating, a later class (2018-20 graduates, measured 2020-21) earned a median $95,666; the two figures describe different graduates, not one class's growth.

3 programs at Rio Hondo College have federal earnings or debt figures, largest graduating classes first. Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Debt: graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The national median is the same measure for every program in that field and credential in the U.S.

Median earnings four years after graduating and median federal debt, by program and credential, for Rio Hondo College (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23).
ProgramMedian earnings, 4 yrs afterNational medianFederal debt borrowed at this college (median)Payment
Business Administration, Associate's$52,193$48,733, +7%——
Criminal Justice, Associate's$54,395$46,706, +16%——
Nursing (RN), Associate's$113,902$80,813, +41%——

Compare what Nursing (RN) pays at other colleges

What the job pays locally

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: everyone working in the job, every experience level, not only recent graduates.

Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Monthly payment assumes a standard 10-year plan. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV). Same degree, different paycheck: what the national data show. Nursing graduates vs RN pay by state: the early-career benchmark.

Frequently asked questions

About Rio Hondo College

Built from CampusPin profile data. Always verify final admissions, cost, financial aid, and program details with the institution before applying. See our data methodology and data dictionary.

Where is Rio Hondo College located?
Rio Hondo College is located in Whittier, CA, in the United States.
What type of institution is Rio Hondo College?
Rio Hondo College is a public university based in CA. CampusPin classifies institutions as either four-year universities or two-year community colleges, with control labeled public or private.
Is Rio Hondo College open admission?
Yes. Rio Hondo College reports an open admission policy to the federal IPEDS survey (IPEDS, admission policy reported in the 2024-25 IC collection), which IPEDS defines as accepting any student who applies. Individual programs, often nursing and other health programs, can still set their own entry requirements, so check the program you want with the college.
What is the tuition at Rio Hondo College?
Rio Hondo College's published in-state tuition is approximately $1,388 per year (IPEDS, charges for academic year 2024-25). This is the published price before financial aid; the net price most students actually pay is typically lower. Verify the current academic-year tuition with the institution before applying.
How many students attend Rio Hondo College?
Rio Hondo College reports total enrollment of approximately 17,441 students (undergraduate plus graduate) (IPEDS, fall 2024 enrollment). Total enrollment is a useful sizing signal, see the institutional profile for additional breakdowns when available.
How much does Rio Hondo College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Rio Hondo College is approximately $14,379 per year. Net price is the total cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships that never have to be repaid, so it is what students actually paid rather than the published sticker price. What families pay varies with income: students from families earning under $30,000 paid about $14,549 on average, and those from families earning $110,000 or more about $11,240. These are averages for students who received federal aid in a prior cohort, not a quote for any individual family. Run the institution's own Net Price Calculator for a figure specific to you.
What is the graduation rate at Rio Hondo College?
Rio Hondo College reports a graduation rate of approximately 25% (IPEDS, Graduation Rates 2024 collection: 4-year cohort 2018, 2-year cohort 2021). This measures the share of a prior entering cohort who completed their degree within the federal tracking window. It reflects who enrolls as much as what the institution does, so it is not on its own a measure of teaching quality, and it is not comparable across institutions serving very different students.
How much student debt do graduates of Rio Hondo College have?
Students who borrowed at Rio Hondo College left with a median of approximately $5,500 in federal loans, and about 1% of students took federal loans at all. Both numbers matter: a median describes only the students who borrowed, so it reads very differently at a school where most students borrow than at one where few do. Federal loans only, so private and parent borrowing are not included.
How much do graduates of Rio Hondo College earn?
Median earnings approximately ten years after entry are $44,950 for students who received federal financial aid at Rio Hondo College. This reflects the mix of programs the institution offers and the students who enroll, not the effect of attending, and it covers aid recipients rather than all graduates.
How should I verify final details about Rio Hondo College?
CampusPin compiles institutional data from public datasets like IPEDS and the College Scorecard, plus institutional websites and editorial review. Before applying, paying a deposit, or making a final decision, confirm admissions requirements, current tuition, financial aid, deadlines, and program details directly with Rio Hondo College.
How much do Nursing (RN) graduates from Rio Hondo College earn?
Rio Hondo College's associate's graduates in Nursing (RN) earned a median $113,902 four years after graduating, 41% above the $80,813 national median for the same program (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard). One year after graduating, a later class (2018-20 graduates, measured 2020-21) earned a median $95,666; the two figures describe different graduates, not one class's growth. For context, registered nurses in California are paid a median $140,270 a year across all experience levels (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025), a figure for everyone in the job, not only recent graduates.
Does Rio Hondo College get a "lower earnings" warning on the FAFSA?
No. In the Department of Education's March 2026 data, which the FAFSA uses now, Rio Hondo College's graduates' median earnings four years after completing were $58,402, above the $36,565 median for high school graduates aged 25 to 34 in California, so first-year students who list it do not see the lower-earnings notice. The figure describes the whole institution, not any one program.

Fields this college awarded credentials in

The 14 largest of 71 fields Rio Hondo College reported, by credentials conferred in 2024-25, using the federal classification of each field. The level is the highest credential actually awarded, which is not always the one a field is best known for.

Fields Rio Hondo College reported conferring credentials in during 2024-25, with the number awarded and the highest credential level.
FieldAwardedLevel
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities1,820Associate's (841 associate · 979 certificate)
Criminal Justice and Corrections409Associate's (108 associate · 301 certificate)
Carpenters340Certificate
Fire Protection282Associate's (79 associate · 203 certificate)
Business Administration, Management and Operations235Associate's (229 associate · 6 certificate)
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services209Associate's (127 associate · 82 certificate)
Biological and Physical Sciences173Associate's
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians133Bachelor's (7 bachelor's · 29 associate · 97 certificate)
Psychology, General123Associate's
Sociology56Associate's
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing47Associate's
Fine and Studio Arts46Associate's (38 associate · 8 certificate)
Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians43Associate's (16 associate · 27 certificate)
Human Services, General34Associate's (31 associate · 3 certificate)

Fields are as classified in the federal IPEDS completions collection, which records credentials already conferred. A field listed here was awarded in the reporting year; it does not confirm the program is currently admitting students, and a field CampusPin has no guide for is still shown under its official federal title. Confirm current offerings with the institution.

Data sources & methodology

Reporting period: 2024. Last verified: June 10, 2026.

Facts on this profile of Rio Hondo College are compiled from federal datasets and the institution's own published information.

Sources used across this page

Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.

Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.

Suggested citation

CampusPin. (2024). Rio Hondo College, college profile. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/schools/rio-hondo-college

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CampusPin compiles college information from recent publicly available data, including federal and institutional sources. College information can change as institutions and public agencies release new data.

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