Cerritos College
Cerritos College is a public community college in Norwalk, CA, with about 13,757 students on campus and 7,289 more studying only online.
What to know about Cerritos College
Cerritos College is nearly free for lower-income families
Families earning under $30,000 pay about $1,538 a year after grants. Families earning $48,000–75,000 pay about $3,774, and those over $110,000 pay about $7,901. What it costs ↓
A lower graduation rate than at most 2-year colleges
Only 31% of students graduate within three years, fewer than at 90% of 2-year colleges. 67% of first-year students come back for a second year. Most students here study part-time, and the rate only counts first-time, full-time students. Outcomes ↓
Most undergraduates are Hispanic
68% of Cerritos College’s undergraduates are Hispanic. The students ↓
Most students study part-time
55% of undergraduates attend part-time, and 40% are 25 or older. The students ↓
Loan payments are a small share of pay
The typical graduate owes $8,447, about $90 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 sticker price, and what families really pay
Sticker price: $10,236 a year
Before any grants · out-of-state tuition $12,004
After grants, the average family on aid pays $2,424.
Tuition and fees are $1,364 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 $7,548 over 2 years · 63% off the sticker price
How hard is it to get into Cerritos College?
anyone with a high school diploma can enroll
Test scores of admitted students
No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Cerritos College is likely test-optional.
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
$90 a month against about $2,715 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 27% 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).
The students
18,870 degree-seeking undergraduates.
By race and ethnicity
Women and men
Living in Norwalk
8% of Norwalk’s 97,104 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ Norwalk pages.
Other colleges within 30 miles
Straight-line distances from Cerritos 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.