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Pasadena City College: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

968 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
16% Student Loan Default Rate

Pasadena City College is a public institution in Pasadena, California enrolling 21,466 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 48%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,261 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 24%), 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 Pasadena City College Ranked?

Pasadena City College ranks #1,261 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 24%.

#1,261 Best Colleges in Nation
#144 Best Colleges in CA
Pasadena City College ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

Pasadena City College was awarded 968 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

College Factual ranked Pasadena City College as #1,261 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.

Within the state, Pasadena City College holds the #144 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

See all of the rankings for Pasadena City College.

Is It Hard to Get Into Pasadena City College?

Acceptance Rate

Learn more about Pasadena City College admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Pasadena City College?

23 to 1 Student to Faculty
44% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

At Pasadena City College, the student to faculty ratio is 23 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.

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 Pasadena City College is 44%. This is comparable to the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  44 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Pasadena City College?

76% Freshmen Retention
48% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate of 76% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Pasadena City College enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  76 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Pasadena City College the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 48%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  48 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Pasadena City College.

How Diverse Is Pasadena City College?

21,466 Undergraduate Students
80.4% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
53.7% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 21,466 undergraduates at Pasadena City College.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Pasadena City College.

How Much Does Pasadena City College Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
1% Take Out Loans
$28,840 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at Pasadena City 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 Pasadena City College

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$3,051 $2,631 $6,003 $9,136 $11,261

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 Pasadena City 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 Pasadena City College, approximately 1% of students took out student loans averaging $7,210 a year. That adds up to $28,840 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 15.8%. 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 Pasadena City College.

How Much Do Pasadena City College Graduates Earn?

$43,937 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Pasadena City College with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $43,937 in their early years. Unfortunately, this is 11% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more. Average Salary for Pasadena City College Graduates

See which majors at Pasadena City College make the most money.

Where Is Pasadena City College Located?

California State
21,466 Undergraduate Students
Midsize City Campus Setting

Pasadena City College is a public institution located in Pasadena, California. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Pasadena City College.

Location of Pasadena City College

Contact details for Pasadena City College are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 1570 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106-2003
Phone: 6265857123
Website: pasadena.edu/
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena_City_College

What Majors Does Pasadena City College Offer?

33 Majors With Completions
17,386 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 33 majors graduated from Pasadena City 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 8,693 NA
Liberal Arts General Studies 1,898 NA
Business Administration & Management 1,108 $20,774
Biological & Physical Science 1,037 NA
Health Sciences & Services 646 NA
Other Interdisciplinary Studies 498 NA
General Psychology 293 NA
Economics 250 NA
Nursing 193 $70,089
Vehicle Maintenance & Repair 171 NA

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

Does Pasadena City College Offer Online Classes?

66% Take At Least One Class Online
30% Take All Classes Online

14,260 students took at least one online class at Pasadena City 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 Pasadena City College.

Interested in comparing Pasadena City 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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