Saddleback College
Saddleback College is a public community college in Mission Viejo, CA, with about 9,188 students on campus and 9,182 more studying only online.
The short version on Saddleback College
Generous aid, but few lower-income students
Aid is generous for lower-income families, yet only 15% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal grant for lower-income students. The students ↓
Saddleback College is nearly free for lower-income families
Families earning under $30,000 pay about $2,596 a year after grants. Families earning $48,000–75,000 pay about $6,349, and those over $110,000 pay about $10,603. What it costs ↓
Most students study part-time
66% of undergraduates attend part-time. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students, so it covers a minority of the people studying here. The students ↓
Rent in Mission Viejo is above the state median
Median rent in Mission Viejo is $2,839 a month, 39% above the state median. Living in Mission Viejo ↓
Loan payments are a small share of pay
The typical graduate owes $9,500, about $101 a month over ten years. That’s 3.3% of a typical former student’s monthly pay six years after starting. Outcomes ↓
This summary is written from the data on this page. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard; price, graduation and earnings include online students; graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students.
The students
17,684 degree-seeking undergraduates.
By race and ethnicity
Women and men
How hard is it to get into Saddleback College?
anyone with a high school diploma can enroll
Test scores of admitted students
No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Saddleback College is likely test-optional.
The sticker price, and what families really pay
Sticker price: $13,939 a year
Before any grants · out-of-state tuition $11,860
After grants, the average family on aid pays $4,152.
Tuition and fees are $1,156 a year. The net price also counts housing, food and other costs at full price, so a student living at home pays less than it shows.
Your family’s price
Average net price after grants, by family income
About $12,698 over 2 years · 54% off the sticker price
Do students finish, and does it pay off?
Debt vs. the paycheck
The typical loan payment as a share of a typical graduate’s monthly pay six years after starting
$101 a month against about $3,050 a month in pay.
Paying back loans
Federal student loans, this college
of borrowers paid down at least some of their loan within three years, more than at 50% of U.S. colleges.
Almost none defaulted within three years (payments on federal loans were paused from 2020 to 2023, so recent default rates are near zero everywhere).
Earnings by family background
Median earnings 10 years after starting, by family income at enrollment
What students study, and what it pays
Share of degrees by field
Associate degree programs with the most graduates
And their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year where that’s all that’s reported).
Living in Mission Viejo
6% of Mission Viejo’s 90,484 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ Mission Viejo pages.
Other colleges within 30 miles
Straight-line distances from Saddleback College; colleges with 100 or more students on campus.
Ask around
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (institution and field-of-study files) and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023); town figures from the Census American Community Survey and NOAA climate normals. Graduation rates count first-time, full-time students; earnings and debt are for students who received federal aid. Distances are straight-line. Colleges are described, not graded (how TownRatings describes colleges). Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.