10-yr median earnings
$39,082
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading Area Community College
Reading Area Community College is a public institution in Reading, Pennsylvania. Former students earn a median of $39,082 ten years after enrollment at an average net price of $9,228/yr — 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.
- $9,228
- Avg net price / yr
- $39,082
- 10-yr median earnings
- 29.6%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Reading Area Community College posts modest former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 45th pct.
- former-student earnings, US
- 29.6%
- 150%-time completion
- +20%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Small
Carnegie: Associate's
Reading Area Community College is a public institution in Reading, Pennsylvania enrolling 3,703 undergraduates, using College Scorecard institution data retrieved in July 2026.. Federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $39,082 ten years after entry. Average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort is $9,228. This profile combines source fields with separately labeled PlainCollege comparisons and derived metrics.
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Reading Area Community College
Reading Area Community College operates as a public institution located in Reading, Pennsylvania (city: small), with a reported undergraduate enrollment of 3,703 students. 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; Reading Area Community College is categorized as "Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career & Technical-Mixed Traditional/Nontraditional" under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.
Admissions and cost fields are IPEDS-derived values published through the Scorecard and retain their source reporting periods. 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; the income-band fields provide more context but still do not replace an institution's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-derived records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year; the entry cohort includes completers and noncompleters. IPEDS completion and retention rates use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so their denominator is not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not as a causal verdict or an individual forecast.
College Value Score
C-
College Value Score
51/100
Reading Area Community College
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
$39,082
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price A-
$9,228
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
29.6%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt B+
$8,750
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment D
55.7%
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
$9,228
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
29.6%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 29.6%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Reading Area Community College 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 Reading Area Community College 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.
Reading Area Community College: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$39,082 Top 55% higher than 45% 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
Quick Facts
3,703
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
29.6%
150%-time completion
$39,082
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $6,480 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $12,510 |
| Average Net Price | $9,228 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $7,968 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $8,553 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $8,987 |
| Over $110,000 | $14,049 |
34.7%
Pell Grant Rate
19.8%
Federal Loan Rate
$8,750
Median Debt
$93/mo
Monthly Payment
Reading Area Community College costs less today than it did in 2013
Average net price fell from $10,369 to $8,039 (-22.5%) between 2013 and 2023, before any inflation adjustment, which makes the real-terms fall larger still. Most colleges moved the other way: the median change across the 4,315 schools measured over the same span was +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $10,3692023 · $8,039
Over the same years, enrollment went -17.1% (4,028 → 3,338 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
59.9%
Female
53.9%
First Generation
Outcomes
29.6%
150%-Time Completion
$32,565
Median Earnings (6yr)
$39,082
Median Earnings (10yr)
48.7%
Earning Over $25K
55.7%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Programs & Earnings
Top programs at Reading Area Community College by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Electrical and Power Trans…
Electrical and Power Transmission Installers
$151,311 median earnings
- Accounting and Related Ser… $51,817
Accounting and Related Services
$51,817 median earnings
- Liberal Arts and Sciences,… $49,285
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
$49,285 median earnings
- Business Administration, M… $46,016
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$46,016 median earnings
- Social Work $37,280
Social Work
$37,280 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical and Power Transmission Installers | Associate's | 14 | $151,311 | - |
| Accounting and Related Services | Associate's | 28 | $51,817 | - |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's | 76 | $49,285 | $5,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Associate's | 59 | $46,016 | $14,650 |
| Social Work | Associate's | 11 | $37,280 | $8,250 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Associate's | 21 | - | - |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's | 35 | - | - |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Certificate | 5 | - | $14,000 |
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.
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 Reading Area Community College? ▼
Reading Area Community College is a public institution in Reading, Pennsylvania. Undergraduate enrollment is 3,703 students.
How much do Reading Area Community College former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Reading Area Community College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $39,082 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $32,565.
How much does Reading Area Community College cost? ▼
The average net price at Reading Area Community College is $9,228. In-state tuition is $6,480 and out-of-state tuition is $12,510. Median student debt at graduation is $8,750.
What is the graduation rate at Reading Area Community College? ▼
Reading Area Community College has a 29.6% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Is Reading Area Community College worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Reading Area Community College is $8,750, while former students earn a median of $39,082 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 22% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 55.7% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $93.
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).
What this means for Reading Area Community College
- Reading Area Community College's reported 10-year former-student earnings land in the 45th percentile among reporting colleges.
- The average net price after aid is $9,228 - compare it against schools with similar outcomes but a lower cost.Find similar schools that cost less
- See how this school compares to every other college in Pennsylvania.Browse Pennsylvania
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.