by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is the data on what it actually costs to attend Houston Community College, covering the cost range, projected degree costs, net price, debt at graduation, default rates, and aid distribution patterns.
If you want to dig into a particular figure, jump to any section below:
The full cost of attending Houston Community College came in between $12,065.00 through $13,181.00 depending on your residency status.
The lower figure reflects the in-state rate and the higher figure the out-of-state rate: roughly $12,065.00 in-state against $13,181.00 for those paying out-of-state rates.
The blocks below show what you would pay with no aid, with average aid, and as a low-income student.
| Tuition and fees | $4,344.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $7,721.00 |
| Total cost | $12,065.00 |
| That is 37% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $12,065.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$6,272.00 |
| Net price | $5,793.00 |
| That is 70% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $12,065.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$6,287.00 |
| Net price | $5,778.00 |
| That is 70% below the national average net price. |
| Tuition and fees | $5,460.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $7,721.00 |
| Total cost | $13,181.00 |
| That is 32% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $13,181.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$6,272.00 |
| Net price | $6,909.00 |
| That is 64% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $13,181.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$6,287.00 |
| Net price | $6,894.00 |
| That is 64% below the national average net price. | |
| Go deeper on the components with the tuition & fees page and living costs. |
The tables below project a full degree at the current published cost. Below, the cost is projected across a degree for three students at once — low-income with aid, average aid, and no aid. The repayment figures use a ten-year loan at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Freshman year | $5,778.00 | $5,793.00 | $12,065.00 |
| Senior year | $5,778.00 | $5,793.00 | $12,065.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $23,112.00 | $23,172.00 | $48,260.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $8,805.00 | $8,828.00 | $18,385.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $266.00 | $267.00 | $555.00 |
| Total amount paid | $31,917.00 | $32,000.00 | $66,645.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Freshman year | $5,778.00 | $5,793.00 | $12,065.00 |
| Senior year | $5,778.00 | $5,793.00 | $12,065.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $11,556.00 | $11,586.00 | $24,130.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $4,402.00 | $4,414.00 | $9,193.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $133.00 | $133.00 | $278.00 |
| Total amount paid | $15,958.00 | $16,000.00 | $33,323.00 |
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Freshman year | $6,894.00 | $6,909.00 | $13,181.00 |
| Senior year | $6,894.00 | $6,909.00 | $13,181.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $27,576.00 | $27,636.00 | $52,724.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $10,505.00 | $10,528.00 | $20,086.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $317.00 | $318.00 | $607.00 |
| Total amount paid | $38,081.00 | $38,164.00 | $72,810.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Freshman year | $6,894.00 | $6,909.00 | $13,181.00 |
| Senior year | $6,894.00 | $6,909.00 | $13,181.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $13,788.00 | $13,818.00 | $26,362.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $5,253.00 | $5,264.00 | $10,043.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $159.00 | $159.00 | $303.00 |
| Total amount paid | $19,041.00 | $19,082.00 | $36,405.00 |
| See the full net-price breakdown in the net price section below. |
Net price strips out grant and scholarship aid to show what families really pay. For most students, this is the more useful number than published tuition because it reflects the real out-of-pocket cost.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $5,737.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $6,738.00 |
The real cost varies by income because need-based aid scales with financial need. The breakdown below splits average net price across income brackets:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $5,937.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $6,606.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $8,980.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $10,633.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $11,372.00 |
Estimate your specific net price using the school’s Houston Community College Net Price Calculator, or reach out to the financial aid office.
Dig into how aid is awarded on the grants & scholarships detail.
Median graduate debt at Houston Community College stands at $8,752.00, landing it in the Very Low (<$10k) debt-burden bucket.
The full distribution of debt at graduation looks like this:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $1,894.00 |
| 25th | $3,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $8,752.00 |
| 75th | $12,000.00 |
| 90th | $22,522.00 |
How far apart the 10th and 90th percentiles sit tells you how uneven debt outcomes are.
For the full borrowing and repayment picture, see the student loan debt page.
Debt outcomes vary substantially with family income. The breakdown below segments borrowers by family income at entry:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500.00 |
| Middle income | $7,334.00 |
| High income | $5,500.00 |
Low-income graduates carry $4,000.00 in extra median debt compared with high-income peers.
First-gen students typically face different financial-aid contexts than students whose parents attended college.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,006.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,598.00 |
First-generation graduates of Houston Community College graduate with $1,408.00 more median debt than continuing-generation peers.
The Pell Grant is the largest federal grant for undergraduates from low-income families. Contrasting Pell and non-Pell borrowers shows how need shapes debt.
The Pell-versus-non-Pell median debt difference at Houston Community College stands at $3,749.00. Federal data flags this school for Pell-related debt inequity.
The Department of Education default-rate tier for Houston Community College is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 12.5% |
To give some context for these rates, Stafford loans disbursed at Houston Community College come to $1,180,950,166.00 over 97,785 student borrowers.
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for substantial federal education benefits including the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 895 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $2,271.00 |
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 56 |
| Avg DoD Tuition Assistance | $1,058.00 |
Read more about military and veteran aid on the veterans benefits detail.
Numbers only tell part of the story. As you weigh Houston Community College, a few questions are worth asking:
Each page below covers one part of paying for college in more detail:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.