Merced College
Merced, California
Merced College is a public institution in Merced, California enrolling 10,001 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.. Graduates earn a median of $37,815 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid data. The average net price after financial aid is $5,040. This profile includes admissions data, graduation rates, program-level earnings, and cost breakdowns to help students compare colleges using official federal data.
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Merced College
Merced College operates as a public institution located in Merced, California (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 10,001 students of which 17,345 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Merced College is categorized as “1” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.
Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. Admission rate data is not currently reported for this institution. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $5,040, with published in-state tuition of $1,200 and a Pell grant recipient share of 37.5%.
Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. Four-year completion rate data is unavailable, rising to 32.3% at six years. Graduates earn a median of $37,815 ten years after enrolling, compared with $31,468 six years post-enrollment, and 36.7% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.
Quick Facts
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $1,200 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $8,520 |
| Average Net Price | $5,040 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $4,155 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $4,862 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $5,562 |
| Over $110,000 | $10,902 |
Student Demographics
Outcomes
Programs & Earnings
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's | 53 | $118,723 | — |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Certificate | 50 | $90,335 | — |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Associate's | 29 | $59,178 | — |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Certificate | 84 | $57,587 | — |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Associate's | 101 | $49,768 | — |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Associate's | 83 | $45,151 | — |
| Precision Metal Working | Certificate | 64 | $44,926 | — |
| Sociology | Associate's | 93 | $41,486 | — |
| Social Sciences, General | Associate's | 227 | $41,246 | — |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Certificate | 760 | $39,525 | — |
| Psychology, General | Associate's | 367 | $37,188 | — |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs | Associate's | — | $31,345 | — |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | Associate's | 93 | $16,478 | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Merced College? ▼
How much do Merced College graduates earn? ▼
How much does Merced College cost? ▼
Guides & Resources
Analyze the financial return of a degree
Which fields of study pay off fastest
Schools where graduates earn the most vs. cost
A data-driven framework for picking schools
How College Scorecard measures outcomes
Compare costs, outcomes, and career paths
Related Colleges
Other public institutions in California
Related Data Sources
Research Merced, California with related datasets
Data Sources
Data as of 2024-25 academic year. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Primary: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. Data reflects most recent available year.
Institutional characteristics: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) institutional characteristics file.
Earnings: Median earnings 6 and 10 years after enrollment, from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal student aid data.
Program data: Credential-level earnings from the College Scorecard Field of Study dataset.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- NCES IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) — enrollment, completions, finance, faculty for every U.S. college. nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- College Scorecard — U.S. Dept of Education outcomes data — earnings, debt, completion. collegescorecard.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) — K-12 → college transition data. nces.ed.gov/ccd
- NSC StudentTracker — enrollment and completion outcomes by institution. nscresearchcenter.org
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections — occupation outlook by education level. bls.gov/emp
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS — educational attainment + degree population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Earnings data sourced from IRS records via the U.S. Treasury–Department of Education matching used by the College Scorecard.