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Community college · Public

Palomar College

San Marcos, CA4,990 online only

Palomar College is a public community college in San Marcos, CA, with about 13,825 students on campus and 4,990 more studying only online.

Visit www2.palomar.edu ↗Directions
Students on campus
13,825
plus 4,990 studying only online
Admission rate
Open
open enrollment
Net price a year
$5,763
tuition and fees $1,354; the net price adds housing and food
Graduation rate
38%
lower than at 81% of 2-year colleges
Earnings, 10 yrs later
$42,300
higher than at 54% of U.S. colleges
Getting in

How hard is it to get into Palomar College?

Open

anyone with a high school diploma can enroll

Test scores of admitted students

No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Palomar College is likely test-optional.

What it costs

The sticker price, and what families really pay

Sticker price: $14,360 a year

Before any grants · out-of-state tuition $10,650

Tuition & fees (in state) $1,354Books & supplies $1,062Other costs $11,944

After grants, the average family on aid pays $5,763.

Tuition and fees are $1,354 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

$7,710

About $15,420 over 2 years · 46% off the sticker price

Under $30k$30–48k$48–75k$75–110kOver $110k
Outcomes

Do students finish, and does it pay off?

Graduate
38%
within 3 years · Pell students 34%
Come back for year two
70%
full-time first-year students
Earnings, 10 years later
$42,300
median, students on federal aid
Typical debt
—

Paying back loans

Federal student loans, this college

34%

of borrowers paid down at least some of their loan within three years, more than at 28% 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

Lower incomeunder $30k
$41k
Middle income$30–75k
$46k
Higher incomeover $75k
$56k
Majors

What students study, and what it pays

Share of degrees by field

Liberal arts 30%Business 16%Social sciences 8%Health professions 8%Interdisciplinary 7%Public safety 4%Everything else 27%

Associate degree programs with the most graduates

And their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year where that’s all that’s reported).

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities318 graduates a year
—not reported
Social Sciences, General279 graduates a year
—not reported
Biological and Physical Sciences275 graduates a year
—not reported
Business Administration, Management and Operations211 graduates a year
—not reported
Psychology, General98 graduates a year
—not reported
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing62 graduates a year
$78k1 yr out
Fire Protection60 graduates a year
—not reported
Sociology59 graduates a year
—not reported
Who goes there

The students

17,712 degree-seeking undergraduates.

By race and ethnicity

White 32%Hispanic 50%Black 3%Asian 6%Two or more 6%International 1%

Women and men

Women 45%Men 55%
25 : 1
students per teacher
18%
get Pell grants (lower income)
1%
take federal loans
33%
undergrads 25 or older
64%
study part time
The town around it

Living in San Marcos

10% of San Marcos’s 94,908 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ San Marcos pages.

San Marcos →
San MarcosSan Marcos, CA
$2,348/momedian rent · 15% above the state$954Ktypical home valueBSafety Grade45° / 82°January low / July highA−Health GradeAll colleges in and near San MarcosCompare prices, admissions and outcomes
Nearby

Other colleges within 30 miles

Straight-line distances from Palomar College; colleges with 100 or more students on campus.

University of St. Augustine for Health SciencesUniversity or college · For-profit · San Marcos
1.1 mi4,158 students
California State University-San MarcosUniversity or college · Public · San Marcos
1.9 mi14,549 students
John Paul the Great Catholic UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Escondido
6.2 mi298 students
MiraCosta CollegeCommunity college · Public · Oceanside
7.4 mi5,946 students
Westminster Theological Seminary in CaliforniaUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Escondido
8.2 mi101 students
San Diego Miramar CollegeCommunity college · Public · San Diego
17 mi8,368 students
Alliant International University-San DiegoUniversity or college · For-profit · San Diego · mostly online
18.2 mi1,412 students
Design Institute of San DiegoUniversity or college · For-profit · San Diego
18.6 mi107 students

Ask around

Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.

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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.