Santa Rosa Junior College is one of the best community colleges in the United States, according to a report published this week by financial website WalletHub.
The 106-year-old institution ranked atop WalletHub’s Aug. 13 Best & Worst Community Colleges (2024) list, coming in 16th out of 653 community colleges, between San Juan College in New Mexico and CT State Community College Naugatuck Valley in Connecticut.
The report follows several controversies at the school, including allegations of sexual discrimination by female faculty and staff in the agriculture department that emerged in May and a discrimination lawsuit filed by a student in July.
According to WalletHub, the best community college in the United States is Manhattan Area Technical College in Manhattan, Kansas, followed by State Technical College of Missouri in Linn, Missouri, and Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kansas.
WalletHub examined data on each college’s costs and funding, educational outcomes, and career prospects. Data was collected from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Campaign for Free College Tuition, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Council for Community & Economic Research.
To determine costs and funding, the website considered each school’s cost of tuition in the state, per-student spending, teaching staff salaries and the average amount of scholarships awarded at the schools.
Educational outcomes were measured by graduation rates, transfer rates, student retention rates after the first year, and the number of degrees and certificates awarded per 100 full-time students.
The job outlook rankings took into account the rate of students who defaulted on their loans, the average salary of junior college graduates, and the percentage of students who were able to earn more money than the average high school graduate.
SRJC scored highest in career opportunities, ranking 87th. It also scored well in costs and financing, ranking 96th. The school scored lowest in educational opportunities, ranking 202nd.
In addition to its national ranking, SRJC was listed as the sixth-best community college in California, behind Irvine Valley College in Irvine, College of San Mateo in San Mateo, Moreno Valley College in Moreno Valley, De Anza College in Cupertino and Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.
Other Bay Area community colleges on the list included City College of San Francisco (No. 173), College of Marin (No. 188), Contra Costa College (No. 273), College of Alameda (No. 316) and Berkeley City College (No. 386).
Napa Valley College in Napa and Mendocino College in Ukiah did not make the list.
According to WalletHub, the worst community college in the United States is Little Big Horn College on the Crow Indian Reservation in Crow Agency, Montana.
For more information, visit wallethub.com.
