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Community-college transfer rates in California

Community colleges in California ranked by reported transfer rate — the share of full-time first-time entrants who continued at another institution within 150% of program length. For students using community college as a stepping stone toward a bachelor's degree, this is the single most predictive comparison metric.

  1. College of the SiskiyousWeed, CA26%
  2. Santa Barbara City CollegeSanta Barbara, CA25%
  3. Berkeley City CollegeBerkeley, CA19%
  4. Laney CollegeOakland, CA17%
  5. College of MarinKentfield, CA17%
  6. Mendocino CollegeUkiah, CA16%
  7. Las Positas CollegeLivermore, CA15%
  8. San Diego City CollegeSan Diego, CA15%
  9. Coastline Community CollegeFountain Valley, CA14%
  10. Lassen Community CollegeSusanville, CA14%
  11. Cerro Coso Community CollegeRidgecrest, CA13%
  12. Folsom Lake CollegeFolsom, CA13%
  13. Los Angeles Southwest CollegeLos Angeles, CA13%
  14. Lake Tahoe Community CollegeSouth Lake Tahoe, CA13%
  15. Monterey Peninsula CollegeMonterey, CA12%
  16. College of the RedwoodsEureka, CA12%
  17. San Diego Miramar CollegeSan Diego, CA12%
  18. Ohlone CollegeFremont, CA12%
  19. Young Americans College of the Performing ArtsCorona, CA12%
  20. Canada CollegeRedwood City, CA12%
  21. San Jose City CollegeSan Jose, CA12%
  22. Sierra CollegeRocklin, CA11%
  23. College of the CanyonsSanta Clarita, CA11%
  24. Napa Valley CollegeNapa, CA11%
  25. Asher CollegeSacramento, CA11%
  26. College of AlamedaAlameda, CA11%
  27. Grossmont CollegeEl Cajon, CA11%
  28. Glendale Community CollegeGlendale, CA11%
  29. Golden West CollegeHuntington Beach, CA11%
  30. Sacramento City CollegeSacramento, CA11%
  31. American River CollegeSacramento, CA11%
  32. El Camino Community College DistrictTorrance, CA11%
  33. Chabot CollegeHayward, CA10%
  34. Diablo Valley CollegePleasant Hill, CA10%
  35. Palo Verde CollegeBlythe, CA10%
  36. Compton CollegeCompton, CA10%
  37. Copper Mountain Community CollegeJoshua Tree, CA10%
  38. Cosumnes River CollegeSacramento, CA10%
  39. Contra Costa CollegeSan Pablo, CA10%
  40. Cabrillo CollegeAptos, CA10%
  41. West Valley CollegeSaratoga, CA10%
  42. Chaffey CollegeRancho Cucamonga, CA9%
  43. Los Angeles Pierce CollegeWoodland Hills, CA9%
  44. Yuba CollegeMarysville, CA9%
  45. Saddleback CollegeMission Viejo, CA9%
  46. Los Angeles Harbor CollegeWilmington, CA9%
  47. College of San MateoSan Mateo, CA9%
  48. Norco CollegeNorco, CA9%
  49. Pasadena City CollegePasadena, CA9%
  50. Evergreen Valley CollegeSan Jose, CA8%

How transfer rates are calculated

The transfer rate reported by the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard is the share of full-time first-time degree-seeking students at a two-year institution who transferred to another postsecondary institution within 150% of the normal time to program completion. It does not distinguish between transfers to four-year institutions and transfers to other two-year colleges, and it does not measure whether the receiving institution accepted the credits. Treat the figure as a directional indicator of how often students leave the community college for further postsecondary work, not as a precise measure of bachelor's-degree pipeline strength.

For a complete transfer assessment of any California community college on this list, ask three follow-up questions of the institution directly: (1) Which four-year institutions does the college maintain articulation agreements with, and on what fields of study? (2) For students who transferred to a public California four-year university last year, what share of community-college credits were accepted on a course-for-course basis? (3) Does the institution participate in any statewide California transfer guarantee or reverse-transfer program? Strong answers to all three questions matter more than the headline transfer rate.

If you are intending to transfer outside California, you should also confirm that the receiving institution will accept the community college's regional accreditation. The accreditor for each college is listed on its full profile.