10-yr median earnings
$39,020
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Palm Desert, California
College of the Desert
College of the Desert is a public institution in Palm Desert, California. as a public institution, published Scorecard outcomes are the federal Title-IV cohort view of former students — not every graduate and not a guarantee for any one enrollee.
- $15,728
- Avg net price / yr
- $39,020
- 10-yr median earnings
- 30.0%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
College of the Desert posts modest former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 44th pct.
- former-student earnings, US
- 30.0%
- 150%-time completion
- +26%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Small
Carnegie: Associate's
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this College of the Desert 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 ("Associate's Colleges: High Transfer-High Traditional"), 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
F
College Value Score
39/100
College of the Desert
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 D
$39,020
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price C
$15,728
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
30.0%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt N/A
N/A
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment D
56.9%
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
$15,728
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
30.0%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 30.0%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - College of the Desert 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 College of the Desert 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.
College of the Desert: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$39,020 44th percentile higher than 44% 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 | College of the Desert | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $39,020 | #2854 of 5103 | 44th |
| Average net price | $15,728 | #2225 of 5020 | 56th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 30.0% | #4288 of 4858 | 12th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 10,207 | #336 of 5462 | 94th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
10,207
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
30.0%
150%-time completion
$39,020
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
How College of the Desert ranks in California
State rank among 493 reporting California colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | College of the Desert | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $39,020 | #308 of 493 | 38th |
| Average net price | $15,728 | #189 of 495 | 62nd (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 30.0% | #453 of 483 | 6th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 10,207 | #75 of 553 | 86th |
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 |
| 308 | College of the DesertThis school | $39,020 | $15,728 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at College of the Desert
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$14,872 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$15,071 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$17,137 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$21,969 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at College of the Desert - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $1,326 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $10,174 |
| Average Net Price | $15,728 |
37.9%
Pell Grant Rate
1.0%
Federal Loan Rate
Published tuition barely moved. What students actually pay rose +48.7%.
Between 2013 and 2023, College of the Desert's published in-state tuition went from $1,316 to $1,326 (+0.8%), but average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort after grant aid, went from $7,943 to $11,812. The sticker price and the real price moved apart.
Published tuition
+0.8%
$1,316 → $1,326
Average net price
+48.7%
$7,943 → $11,812
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $7,9432023 · $11,812
Over the same years, enrollment went +6.8% (8,330 → 8,900 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
55.9%
Female
62.1%
First Generation
Outcomes
$31,085
Median Earnings (6yr)
47.8%
Earning Over $25K
56.9%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 30.0% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $31,085 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $39,020 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 47.8% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 56.9% |
Programs & Earnings
Top programs at College of the Desert by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$106,782 median earnings
- Biological and Physical Sc…
Biological and Physical Sciences
$59,719 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$52,620 median earnings
- History
History
$49,234 median earnings
- Communication and Media St…
Communication and Media Studies
$47,357 median earnings
- Liberal Arts and Sciences,…
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
$45,349 median earnings
- Criminal Justice and Corre…
Criminal Justice and Corrections
$44,704 median earnings
- Practical Nursing, Vocatio… $40,391
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
$40,391 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's | 64 | $106,782 | - |
| Biological and Physical Sciences | Associate's | 36 | $59,719 | - |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Associate's | 169 | $52,620 | - |
| History | Associate's | 29 | $49,234 | - |
| Communication and Media Studies | Associate's | 25 | $47,357 | - |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's | 162 | $45,349 | - |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Associate's | 85 | $44,704 | - |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Associate's | 1 | $40,391 | - |
| Psychology, General | Associate's | 178 | $39,201 | - |
| Sociology | Associate's | 61 | $35,465 | - |
Nearby Schools
Elite Cosmetology School
PALM DESERT, CA
115 students
International School of Beauty Inc
Palm Desert, CA
132 students
San Joaquin Valley College-Rancho Mirage
Rancho Mirage, CA
305 students
California Nurses Educational Institute
Rancho Mirage, CA
200 students
California Indian Nations College
Palm Desert, CA
142 students
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Matches use Scorecard measures among reporting colleges — not state-system recommendations or geographic proximity.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Public institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Public institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Butler Community College
El Dorado, KS
$15,724 net price · $4 apart
Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools
Groveport, OH
$15,732 net price · $4 apart
Butte County Regional Occupational Program
Chico, CA
$15,737 net price · $9 apart
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC
$15,739 net price · $11 apart
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for College of the Desert? ▼
College of the Desert is a public institution in Palm Desert, California. Undergraduate enrollment is 10,207 students.
How much do College of the Desert former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at College of the Desert who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $39,020 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $31,085.
How much does College of the Desert cost? ▼
The average net price at College of the Desert is $15,728. In-state tuition is $1,326 and out-of-state tuition is $10,174.
What is the graduation rate at College of the Desert? ▼
College of the Desert has a 30.0% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Sources & methodology
Public-college profiles lean on IPEDS enrollment and Scorecard Title-IV outcomes. State appropriations are outside this page; the figures below are the federal cohort measures only.
Every number is read live from the Mar–Jul 2026 Scorecard/IPEDS retrievals. Public institutions often enroll large Title-IV cohorts, so medians can be stable — still cohort averages, never a personal forecast. 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 College of the Desert
- Compare College of the Desert 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
Public-college Scorecard figures are historical Title-IV cohort averages — confirm current tuition, aid, and admissions rules with the institution before deciding.
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. Public-institution profiles compile Scorecard Title-IV earnings, IPEDS enrollment/admissions, and Treasury linkage 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.