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After Saddleback College: graduation, pay and debt

Mission Viejo, California · Public · 18,370 undergrads

The typical student earns $50,874 ten years after starting and graduates leave with $9,500 in federal loans at the median.

The short answers

$50.9k
median pay 10 years after starting college.
$9,500
median federal debt at graduation.
45%
of borrowers were paying down their loans three years after leaving.
All the federal numbers

Finishing

Finished a two-year program within three yearsCollege Scorecard
44%
Earned a degree or certificate here within eight yearsIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
55%
Still enrolled here after eight yearsIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
20%
Students in that eight-year groupIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
1,799
Transferred to another collegeCollege Scorecard
12%

Pay after college

Median pay 6 years after starting collegeCollege Scorecard
$36,605
Median pay 8 years after starting collegeCollege Scorecard
$41,667
Median pay 10 years after starting collegeCollege Scorecard
$50,874
Earning more than $25,000 six years after startingCollege Scorecard
54%

Pay is for students who got federal aid and are working, counted from the year they started college, whether or not they finished.

Debt and paying it back

Median federal debt, students who graduatedCollege Scorecard
$9,500
Median federal debt, everyone who borrowed (finished or not)College Scorecard
$6,988
Median federal debt, students with a Pell GrantCollege Scorecard
$8,492
Median federal debt, students without a Pell GrantCollege Scorecard
$5,250
Paying down their loans 3 years after leavingCollege Scorecard
45%
Paying down their loans 5 years after leavingCollege Scorecard
51%
Paying down their loans 7 years after leavingCollege Scorecard
63%

Federal student loans only. Private loans and Parent PLUS loans aren't counted.

Where these numbers come from

Updated May 8, 2026Spot a mistake?How we get our numbers