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Monterey Peninsula College: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

Fair Price Value for Your Money
15% Student Loan Default Rate

Monterey Peninsula College is a public institution in Monterey, California enrolling 5,624 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 40%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,480 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 48%), 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 Monterey Peninsula College Ranked?

Monterey Peninsula College ranks #2,480 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 48%.

#2,480 Best Colleges in Nation
#259 Best Colleges in CA
Monterey Peninsula 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.

Overall Quality

College Factual ranked Monterey Peninsula College as #2,480 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.

Monterey Peninsula College also holds the #259 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

See all of the rankings for Monterey Peninsula College.

Is It Hard to Get Into Monterey Peninsula College?

Acceptance Rate

Learn more about Monterey Peninsula College admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Monterey Peninsula College?

23 to 1 Student to Faculty
39% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at Monterey Peninsula College is 23 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

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Monterey Peninsula College is 39%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  39 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Monterey Peninsula College?

68% Freshmen Retention
40% 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 Monterey Peninsula College is 68%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  68 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Monterey Peninsula College the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 40%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  40 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Monterey Peninsula College.

How Diverse Is Monterey Peninsula College?

5,624 Undergraduate Students
67.0% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
53.2% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 5,624 undergraduates at Monterey Peninsula College.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Monterey Peninsula College.

How Much Does Monterey Peninsula College Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
1% Take Out Loans
$28,120 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Monterey Peninsula 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 Monterey Peninsula College

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$9,451 $10,277 $13,602 $15,700 $18,340

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 Monterey Peninsula College, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Monterey Peninsula College, approximately 1% of students took out student loans averaging $7,030 a year. That adds up to $28,120 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 15.4%. 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 Monterey Peninsula College.

How Much Do Monterey Peninsula College Graduates Earn?

$42,176 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 Monterey Peninsula College make about $42,176 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is about 14% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more. Average Salary for Monterey Peninsula College Graduates

See which majors at Monterey Peninsula College make the most money.

Where Is Monterey Peninsula College Located?

California State
5,624 Undergraduate Students
Suburb Campus Setting

Monterey Peninsula College is a public institution situated in Monterey, California. Monterey Peninsula College is located in a safe and convenient suburb. Get more details about the location of Monterey Peninsula College.

Location of Monterey Peninsula College

Contact information for Monterey Peninsula College are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 980 Fremont St, Monterey, CA 93940-4799
Phone: 8316464000
Website: www.mpc.edu

What Majors Does Monterey Peninsula College Offer?

26 Majors With Completions
1,464 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 26 majors graduated from Monterey Peninsula 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 732 NA
Liberal Arts General Studies 168 NA
Criminal Justice & Corrections 101 NA
Allied Health Professions 58 NA
Business Administration & Management 38 NA
Nursing 37 NA
General Psychology 32 NA
Fire Protection 30 NA
Biological & Physical Science 25 NA
Health Sciences & Services 23 NA

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

Does Monterey Peninsula College Offer Online Classes?

68% Take At Least One Class Online
28% Take All Classes Online

3,835 students took at least one online class at Monterey Peninsula 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 Monterey Peninsula College.

Interested in comparing Monterey Peninsula College? Match them up 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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