10-yr median earnings
$32,986
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Santa Maria, California
CET-Santa Maria
CET-Santa Maria is a private nonprofit institution in Santa Maria, California. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $32,986
- 10-yr median earnings
- $5,446
- Avg net price / yr
- 68.1%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
CET-Santa Maria posts modest former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 27th pct.
- former-student earnings, US
- 68.1%
- 150%-time completion
- -1%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Midsize
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this CET-Santa Maria profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class, and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
C
College Value Score
59/100
CET-Santa Maria
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings F
$32,986
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price A+
$5,446
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate B-
68.1%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt A
$7,041
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment F
34.4%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention N/A
N/A
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$5,446
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
68.1%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 68.1%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - CET-Santa Maria vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How CET-Santa Maria ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
CET-Santa Maria: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$32,986 27th percentile higher than 27% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | CET-Santa Maria | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $32,986 | #3732 of 5103 | 27th |
| Average net price | $5,446 | #392 of 5020 | 92nd (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 68.1% | #1568 of 4858 | 68th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 142 | #4014 of 5462 | 27th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
142
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
68.1%
150%-time completion
$32,986
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
How CET-Santa Maria ranks in California
State rank among 493 reporting California colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | CET-Santa Maria | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $32,986 | #391 of 493 | 21st |
| Average net price | $5,446 | #44 of 495 | 91st (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 68.1% | #201 of 483 | 58th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 142 | #417 of 553 | 25th |
Highest former-student earnings in California
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Merritt University | $143,238 | - |
| 2 | Harvey Mudd College | $138,687 | $35,924 |
| 3 | California Institute of Technology | $128,566 | $16,075 |
| 4 | Stanford University | $124,080 | $13,807 |
| 5 | Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health | $115,318 | - |
| 6 | Gnomon | $114,785 | $51,949 |
| 7 | Santa Clara University | $109,183 | $50,062 |
| 8 | Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University | $109,183 | - |
| 9 | Touro University California | $104,805 | - |
| 10 | Claremont McKenna College | $104,736 | $28,849 |
| 11 | West Coast University-Anaheim-Orange County | $102,672 | $32,879 |
| 12 | West Coast University-Ontario | $102,672 | $49,590 |
| 388 | CET-Santa MariaThis school | $32,986 | $5,446 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at CET-Santa Maria
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$4,846 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$5,802 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$7,319 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at CET-Santa Maria - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| Average Net Price | $5,446 |
58.9%
Pell Grant Rate
12.4%
Federal Loan Rate
$7,041
Median Debt
$75/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at CET-Santa Maria swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $2,869 to $14,029 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as -78.9%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$2,869
Highest year
$14,029
Most recent (2023)
$2,869
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $13,5702023 · $2,869
Over the same years, enrollment went -19.4% (155 → 125 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
33.9%
Female
69.3%
First Generation
Outcomes
$33,264
Median Earnings (6yr)
35.0%
Earning Over $25K
34.4%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 68.1% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $33,264 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $32,986 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 35.0% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 34.4% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $7,041 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $75/mo |
Programs & Earnings
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and Inspection | Certificate | 15 | $39,229 | $6,323 |
| Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services | Certificate | 53 | $37,870 | $6,246 |
| Business Operations Support and Assistant Services | Certificate | 7 | $31,548 | $5,865 |
Nearby Schools
San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria
Santa Maria, CA
114 students
Allan Hancock College
Santa Maria, CA
8,052 students
Central California School of Continuing Education
San Luis Obispo, CA
41 students
Laurus College
San Luis Obispo, CA
1,116 students
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA
21,996 students
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private Nonprofit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
CET-Watsonville
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142 students · 0 apart
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145 students · 3 apart
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Baton Rouge General Medical Center School of Nursing & School of Radiologic Technology
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Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private Nonprofit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for CET-Santa Maria? ▼
CET-Santa Maria is a private nonprofit institution in Santa Maria, California. Undergraduate enrollment is 142 students.
How much do CET-Santa Maria former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at CET-Santa Maria who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $32,986 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $33,264.
How much does CET-Santa Maria cost? ▼
The average net price at CET-Santa Maria is $5,446.. Median student debt at graduation is $7,041.
What is the graduation rate at CET-Santa Maria? ▼
CET-Santa Maria has a 68.1% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Is CET-Santa Maria worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at CET-Santa Maria is $7,041, while former students earn a median of $32,986 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 21% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 34.4% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $75.
Sources & methodology
Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.
Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from CET-Santa Maria
- Compare CET-Santa Maria against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in California side by side.Browse California
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.