Is Reedley College Worth It?

Reedley College costs almost nothing to attend. At $1,584 a year in net price and a median debt of $2,819 at graduation, you can finish here without borrowing much of anything. That low cost is the entire financial case for this school, because the payoff on the other end is thin. Median earnings ten years out sit at $38,493, which is close to what you might make without the degree in California's Central Valley.

The two programs with reported earnings both pay below that median. Criminal Justice and Corrections graduates earn about $30,771, and Dental Support Services graduates around $23,113. Both are associate-level credentials, and neither lands you in a job that clears the region's cost of living on its own. If either of these is your plan, treat Reedley as a cheap first step toward a four-year transfer, not a destination.

The real risk here is the 42.30% graduation rate. Nearly six in ten students don't finish, and a credential you don't complete returns nothing on even a small investment of time. Low cost protects you from debt, but not from spending semesters that don't end in a degree.

The net price tiers make this school nearly free for lower-income families. If your family earns under $30k, you pay $452 a year. under $48k, $1,324. That climbs to $7,727 at the $75-110k band, which is still modest but a real jump. If you're in a lower income bracket, aiming to transfer, and disciplined enough to graduate, Reedley is a low-risk place to start. If you want to stop at an associate degree and go straight to work, the earnings data says look harder at what those specific jobs actually pay.