BaccalaureatePublicHSI

Rio Hondo College

Whittier, California·Public, 4-year or above·Far West·riohondo.edu
6-yr Graduation
25%
-28.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
17,441
peer median 17,850
Avg net price
$11,903
+$5.8k vs Baccalaureate
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AboutOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR Office

About

Río Hondo College is a public community college in Whittier, California. Founded in 1960, it is named after the Rio Hondo and mainly serves the cities of Whittier, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, El Monte, and South El Monte. Río Hondo College offers 30 associate degrees for transfer that guarantee transfer to California State Universities, 60 associate degrees and 127 certificates. Rio Hondo offers on-campus, online, and off-campus courses to all of its students. It is the first community college in California offering a bachelor's degree in Automotive Technology. Rio Hondo also offers a Pathway to Law School program to one of six top California law schools.

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
25%-28.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Full-time retention
100%

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 112 Title IV programs, 3 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 109 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
112
Passing
3
2.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

112programs
  • Passing3 · 2.7%
  • No Data109 · 97.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
3
No data
109

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

3
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+44.7%
$52,193 vs $36,082
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
+50.8%
$54,395 vs $36,082
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+215.7%
$113,902 vs $36,082

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Accredited since 1967Next review Mar 2029

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 5

  1. Aug 2025Initial Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
  2. Jan 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  3. Sep 2023Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  4. Jun 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  5. Feb 2015Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$11,073
$30–48k$11,521
$48–75k$13,812
$75–110k$15,971
$110k+$11,240

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$11,903
+$5,787vs Baccalaureate median $6,116
Federal loans
0.5%
In-state tuition
$1,388
Out-of-state
$9,884

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 5,703 students received $22.0M in Pell grants, alongside $705K in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
5,703
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$22.0M
$21,977,055 total
Direct Loans
$705K
175 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

4k
’20
4k
’21
4k
’22
5k
’23
6k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$287K
90 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$418K
85 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 61 borrowers who entered repayment, 3 (4.9%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
4.9%
+2.6pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
61
Defaulted
3
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
15.3%
2017
8.6%
2018
15.3%
2019
4.9%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Rio Hondo College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs96
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,094 total completions
01Liberal Arts
89342.6%
02Business
27313.0%
03Security/Protective
21210.1%
04Multi/Interdisciplinary
1467.0%
05Family/Consumer Sci
1386.6%
06Psychology
1326.3%
07Social Sciences
1175.6%
08Visual/Performing Arts
713.4%
09Health Professions
623.0%
10Communication
502.4%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
17,441
12-mo unduplicated
27,997
Undergraduate
27,997
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
58%16,297
Women
42%11,700

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
71.0%
White
10.4%
Unknown
9.7%
Asian
5.3%
Black
2.1%
Two or more
1.0%
Non-resident
0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
163
107 M · 56 W
Women athletes
34.4%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$664K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$17K
$17K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 7

Soccer
27 M · 21 W
$71K
Baseball
39 M · —
$158K
Wrestling
25 M · —
$45K
Basketball
13 M · 8 W
$94K
Volleyball
— · 20 W
$62K
Beach Volleyball
— · 14 W
$39K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.06
1 offenses · 16,139 students

3-year trend

0.252 yrs ago0.321 yr ago0.06Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
10
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
31.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
180

Rio Hondo College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Rio Hondo College selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectRio Hondo College
25%—17,441$11,903Baccalaureate
San Diego Mesa College
92%—19,212-$904Baccalaureate
Foothill College
——12,949$7,549Baccalaureate
Modesto Junior College
0%—18,258$10,176Baccalaureate
Santa Monica College
81%—23,453$3,600Baccalaureate
Cypress College
——15,924$4,683Baccalaureate
Peer group median53%—17,850$6,116

Institutions like Rio Hondo College

Explore the federal data for institutions in Rio Hondo College's comparison group.

IPEDS

Rio Hondo College Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Reports to Administration
Phone
(562) 908-3412
Address
L-Tower, Office 308, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA 90601

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness supports campus-wide effectiveness and student success through strategic analytics, research, analysis, planning, outcomes assessment, training, and consultation.

Visit IR office page
Team
2 members
  • Dr. Caroline Durdella
    Associate Vice-President, Academic Affairs/Institutional Effectiveness
  • Dr. Sarah Cote
    Interim Director, Research and Planning

Frequently asked questions about Rio Hondo College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Rio Hondo College.

What is the graduation rate at Rio Hondo College?

Rio Hondo College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 25% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Rio Hondo College?

Rio Hondo College reports a total enrollment of 17,441 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Rio Hondo College?

The average net price at Rio Hondo College is $11,903 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is Rio Hondo College located?

Rio Hondo College is located in Whittier, California 90601-1616.

Who runs Institutional Research at Rio Hondo College?

Rio Hondo College's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, which reports to Administration.

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