-23%
Public associate's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at Cuyamaca College are 23% below the public associate's-predominant peer median ($32.4k vs $42.3k).
California · Public · Predominantly associate's
Cuyamaca College
El Cajon, California. 6,788 undergraduate students. 79 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Cuyamaca College
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Cuyamaca College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.6% → 0.0%).
+41%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Cuyamaca College rose 41% between 2007 and 2010 ($2.6k → $3.7k).
+14%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Cuyamaca College rose 14% between 2021 and 2024 ($9.9k → $11.3k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. California
Each tile compares this institution to the California median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$32,435+9% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$29,836
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry33.5%-46% · '97→'10
California median 61.3%$5,136+41% · '97→'10
At program completion6,788+121% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS72.4%+26% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$1,340+278% · '00→'24
out-of-state $10,636SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.1%Median federal debt $5,136 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $32,435 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
-46%
Cuyamaca College · completion · 150% fell
39.4% → 21.3%
+26%
Cuyamaca College · retention rose
57.0% → 71.7%
+121%
Cuyamaca College · undergrad enrollment rose
3,966 → 8,764
+99%
Cuyamaca College · in-state tuition rose
$356 → $1,346
+234%
Cuyamaca College · out-of-state tuition rose
$3,384 → $11,314
+41%
Cuyamaca College · median debt rose
$2,625 → $3,711
-100%
Cuyamaca College · cohort default rate fell
31.7% → 0.0%
+148%
Cuyamaca College · pell share rose
11.0% → 27.4%
+38%
Cuyamaca College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$26,000 → $35,992
+37%
Cuyamaca College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$21,700 → $29,836
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
4 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Cuyamaca College graduates earn $X” — not “Cuyamaca College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Cuyamaca College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.