by our College Data Analytics TeamThis page focuses on the debt students take on to attend Pima Community College— how much they borrow, how that debt is spread across the student body, and what it costs to pay back. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
At Pima County Community College District specifically, 6% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $4,002 apiece. This figure includes both private and federally funded student loans.
On the federal side, the average loan is $3,989, representing 72.5% of the $5,500 first-year federal borrowing limit for a typical dependent freshman. Keep in mind the all-undergraduate averages further down count federal loans only, unlike this private-plus-federal freshman figure.
Counting every undergraduate at Pima County Community College District, 10% take out federal student loans, borrowing on average $3,676 annually. This works out to 7.8% below the first-year federal average of $3,989.
Carrying that yearly figure forward comes to roughly $7,352 in two years and roughly $14,704 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 10% |
| Average federal loan per year | $3,676 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,367 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $5,024,469 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at Pima County Community College District carry a median federal debt of $4,500 in federal borrowing.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,500 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $3,500 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
Looking only at the median is misleading — these four percentiles describe the full debt distribution for borrowers at Pima County Community College District.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,278 |
| 25th percentile | $1,750 |
| 75th percentile | $7,523 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,327 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Pima County Community College District.
Median federal debt understates the full cost when PLUS loans are included. The totals below add PLUS borrowing for Pima County Community College District.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1954 | $13,523 |
| Completed (graduates) | 275 | $10,000 |
| Did not complete | 1679 | $14,300 |
For students who completed, the median total debt including PLUS loans works out to a standard 10-year payment of about $118.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at Pima County Community College District.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1855 | $13,173 |
| No Stafford loan | 99 | $19,150 |
Current-Year Stafford Borrowers
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 452 | $8,632 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 1502 | $15,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Pima County Community College District.
Defaulting means failing to repay a federal student loan, which carries serious credit consequences. Two-year cohort default-rate data for Pima County Community College District appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 14.9% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3822 |
The cohort default rate tracks borrowers who entered repayment in a given year and defaulted within the two-year measurement window.
The breakdowns below show median federal debt by income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $4,875 |
| Middle income | $3,911 |
| High income | $3,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $4,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $5,250 |
These pre-calculated indicators summarize the borrowing gaps between cohorts at Pima County Community College District.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Important to Remember
Federal student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy in all but the rarest cases, and the government can withhold part of your income or tax refund if you default.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.