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American River College: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

144 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
19% Student Loan Default Rate

American River College is a public institution in Sacramento, California enrolling 25,621 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 37%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,722 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 33%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is American River College Ranked?

American River College ranks #1,722 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 33%.

#1,722 Best Colleges in Nation
#189 Best Colleges in CA
American River College ranking badge

2027 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

American River College was awarded 144 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

American River College is ranked #1,722 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.

Within the state, American River College holds the #189 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

See all of the rankings for American River College.

Is It Hard to Get Into American River College?

Acceptance Rate

Learn more about American River College admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at American River College?

29 to 1 Student to Faculty
35% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at American River College is 29 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at American River College is 35%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  35 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at American River College?

72% Freshmen Retention
37% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at American River College is 72%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  72 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

When it comes to finishing their studies on time, those seeking a bachelor’s degree from American River College have a four-year graduation rate of 37%. This is comparable to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  37 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at American River College.

How Diverse Is American River College?

25,621 Undergraduate Students
59.3% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
49.6% Percent Women

The current enrollment includes 25,621 undergraduates at American River College.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at American River College.

How Much Does American River College Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
3% Take Out Loans
$30,144 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of American River College is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for American River College

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$7,599 $6,219 $9,538 $11,652 $13,845

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of American River College, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At American River College, approximately 3% of students took out student loans averaging $7,536 a year. That adds up to $30,144 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 18.6%. This is significantly higher than the national default rate of 10.1%, which means you could have trouble paying back your student loans if you take any out. Get more details about paying for American River College.

How Much Do American River College Graduates Earn?

$40,162 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from American River College make about $40,162 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is about 18% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more. Average Salary for American River College Graduates

See which majors at American River College make the most money.

Where Is American River College Located?

California State
25,621 Undergraduate Students
Suburb Campus Setting

American River College is an public institution situated in Sacramento, California. Sacramento is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of American River College.

Location of American River College

Get in touch with American River College can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 4700 College Oak Dr, Sacramento, CA 95841-4286
Phone: 9164848011
Website: www.arc.losrios.edu/

What Majors Does American River College Offer?

33 Majors With Completions
9,856 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 33 majors graduated from American River College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 4,928 NA
Liberal Arts General Studies 839 NA
Carpentry 500 NA
General Social Sciences 350 $24,748
Biological & Physical Science 298 $25,407
Business Administration & Management 241 $34,120
Building Management & Inspection 222 NA
General Psychology 189 NA
Child Development & Family Studies 168 NA
Precision Metal Working 162 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at American River College along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does American River College Offer Online Classes?

78% Take At Least One Class Online
52% Take All Classes Online

19,877 students took at least one online class at American River College.

Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.

Learn more about online learning at American River College.

Interested in comparing American River College? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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