California Indian Nations College
Palm Desert, CA 92211
About California Indian Nations College
California Indian Nations College is a public community college in Palm Desert, California, enrolling about 142 students. The college offers associate degrees, career certificates, and transfer pathways to four-year universities. Published tuition for full-time study starts near $7,680 before fees and financial aid. Student demographics in federal data include Hispanic or Latino (45.1%) and American Indian or Alaska Native (35.2%) among the largest enrollment groups.
Key findings
- Versus the California median, sticker tuition is 10% below.
- Completion within 150% of normal time is 66.67%.
Cost benchmarks
| Benchmark | Median Tuition | Median Net Price | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Indian Nations College | $7,680 | — | 1 |
| Public (national median) | $5,700 | — | 1,692 |
| California (state median) | $8,510 | $7,373 | 288 |
| Town (locale median) | $9,824 | $15,745 | 1,516 |
| United States (national median) | $12,200 | $17,569 | — |
Compares this campus to school-type, state, and locale medians plus a U.S. national median (College Scorecard–derived). Locale groups campuses by NCES locale type; state tuition is the median published tuition among campuses in that state.
How expensive is California Indian Nations College really?
Key findings
- California Indian Nations College charges 35% above the national public median tuition ($7,680).
- Versus the California median, sticker tuition is 10% below.
California Indian Nations College tuition
Published undergraduate tuition $7,680
Finding California Indian Nations College charges 35% above the national public median tuition.
Evidence Published tuition is $7,680. That is 35% above the national public median ($5,700). Versus the California median ($8,510), sticker tuition is 10% below. Versus the U.S. median ($12,200), sticker is 37% below.
Method Sticker tuition compared with Scorecard-derived medians by ownership, state, locale, and national rollups when available.
Interpretation Published tuition measures sticker price relative to public and geographic peers; it does not equal what undergraduates typically pay after aid.
Limitation Sticker comparisons omit room, board, and institutional aid; average net price and income-band net prices are the stronger signals of typical family cost.
Evidence: published tuition at California Indian Nations College versus school-type, state, locale, and U.S. medians.
California Indian Nations College: research record
Canonical EDsmart Data findings for California Indian Nations College—costs, outcomes, admissions, and programs—with evidence and methodology notes.
Research findings
Interpretation
High completion indicates students finish programs at scale; it does not alone measure instructional quality or labor-market fit.
Financial profile
Annual tuition
$7,680
Sticker tuition × four years (estimate, no room/board): $30,720. See cost investigation.
Student outcomes
Share of first-year students returning the following fall.
Graduation rate and 10-year earnings are in the hero strip above; see Graduates for more.
What California Indian Nations College is known for
Top program completions
See earnings & programs for more.
Is California Indian Nations College a good school?
Data-framed fit—not a prestige rating.
California Indian Nations College is a good school for those looking for high program completion rates.
EDsmart Data does not assign an opinion score; this framing summarizes the strongest Scorecard signals for this campus.
More from the data
Location, control, enrollment, and aid context for California Indian Nations College.
Campus
Location
Palm Desert, CA
City / state
- ZIP
- 92211
- NCES locale
- Town
Compared with Town campuses nationally, tuition is 22% below the median for Town campuses.
Control
Institution type
Public
Control
- Region
- Far West
- Carnegie
- Associate's Colleges: High Transfer-High Nontraditional
Size
Enrollment
142
Undergraduates (fall)
- Undergraduates (full year)
- 236
- Full-time share
- 13%
Student aid
Debt & aid
- Pell grant share
- 0.00%
Total Cost, Aid & Default
Total Cost of Attendance
Tuition vs average net price after aid for California Indian Nations College.
Financial Aid by Income Level
Financial aid distribution by income level.
Student Loan Default Rate
The published 3-year cohort default rate for borrowers at California Indian Nations College was not reported in the College Scorecard extract for this institution.
Cohort default rates account for borrowers who default in the first three years.
Tuition tracker
Published tuition and average net price by reporting year come from the College Scorecard institution file. Values are not adjusted for inflation; missing cells mean the field was not reported or was suppressed for California Indian Nations College in that year.
Reporting years in the table below: 2020–2023 (Scorecard labels refer to the institutional submission cycle).
| Year | In-state tuition & fees | Out-of-state tuition & fees | Average net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7,743 | $7,743 | — |
| 2021 | $7,743 | $7,743 | — |
| 2022 | $7,743 | $7,743 | — |
| 2023 | $7,743 | $7,743 | — |
Sticker tuition and net price over time
Where the institution reported separate in-state and out-of-state tuition, both appear. Gaps mean the value was not reported for that year.
College Scorecard reporting-year fields (not inflation-adjusted).
Net price by family income
Brackets follow Scorecard definitions for the series shown (public vs private institution).
Latest income-band net prices available in the processed extract.
How difficult is it to get in?
Acceptance Rate
Acceptance rate data is not available for this institution.
Admissions funnel data is not available for this institution.
Test Scores
Test score data is not available for this institution.
Score distribution is not available for this institution.
Academic Requirements
GPA requirements are not published by this institution. Contact the admissions office for specific academic requirements.
Estimated GPA range is not available for this institution.
Enrollment & Student Demographics
California Indian Nations College reported total enrollment of about 142 students in the latest College Scorecard extract. The student body is about 15% male and 85% female. Enrollment by race and ethnicity includes Hispanic or Latino (45.1%), American Indian or Alaska Native (35.2%), and Two or More Races (12.0%).
Full-Time vs Part-Time Enrollment
12.7% Full-Time Enrollment
The total enrollment at California Indian Nations College in 2024 is 142 students.
Over a full year, about 236 undergraduates enroll.
Full-time vs part-time enrollment comparison.
Retention Rate over Time
100.0%
2024 Retention Rate
Retention rate measures the number of first-time students who began their studies the previous fall and returned to school the following fall.
Retention rate over time compared to similar institutions.
Enrollment by Race & Ethnicity
Largest share of total enrollment in our College Scorecard extract.
College Scorecard student demographics (total enrollment shares).
Do students complete their programs?
Time to Complete
33.33% 100% Completion Time
66.67% 150% Completion Time
In 2024, 33.33% of students graduating from California Indian Nations College completed their program within 100% "normal time".
Completion rates over time compared to similar institutions.
Completions by Sex (Top Programs)
- Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies: 21% male / 79% female
- Sociology, General: 50% male / 50% female
IPEDS completions by sex for the five largest programs (aggregate CIPs excluded).
Completions by Race & Ethnicity
Largest group by summed IPEDS award counts across reported programs.
Summed across program completion records in our extract.
What do California Indian Nations College graduates earn—and in which programs?
Financial value and program completions for California Indian Nations College from College Scorecard and IPEDS extracts.
Return on Investment
ROI data is not available for this institution.
Top Programs by Completions
Largest 2 programs by IPEDS completions (3 reported codes; aggregate/unknown CIP buckets excluded).
IPEDS award counts for the largest programs at California Indian Nations College.
Employment Outcomes
Employment outcome data is not available for this institution.
Median earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after entry for California Indian Nations College graduates.
Institutional resources
Finding: federal finance and Scorecard instructional fields for California Indian Nations College—instructional staffing and expenditure. Compared with state, regional, and U.S. medians from EDsmart Data institutional financials.
Instructional Resources
- Full-time faculty share: 20.0%
- California median 19.3 pp below median (39.3%)
- Far West median 25.7 pp below median (45.7%)
- U.S. median 38.0 pp below median (58.0%)
- Average faculty salary (monthly): $5,720
- California median 0.56× the median ($10,166)
- Far West median 0.59× the median ($9,635)
- U.S. median 0.75× the median ($7,615)
- Instructional expenditure per FTE: $1,853
- California median 0.29× the median ($6,474)
- Far West median 0.26× the median ($7,030)
- U.S. median 0.25× the median ($7,288)
Instructional metrics from College Scorecard. Peer medians are campus-level; see the institutional financials deep dive. Detailed non-instructional staff counts are not included here.
Scorecard instructional metrics where reported.
California Indian Nations College at a glance
California Indian Nations College
California Indian Nations College is a public institution in Palm Desert, CA, classified as Associate's Colleges: High Transfer-High Nontraditional.
- Largest programs (IPEDS awards)
- Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal StudiesSociology, General
- Largest enrollment groups
- Hispanic or Latino45.1%American Indian or Alaska Native35.2%Two or More Races12.0%
Schools near California Indian Nations College
Other campuses in Palm Desert, CA when available, plus nearby institutions in California.
Similar schools
Peers matched by the same EDsmart outcomes grade (Grade B) within California, then by similar ownership and admissions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is California Indian Nations College located?
California Indian Nations College is located in Palm Desert, CA.
What is California Indian Nations College's tuition?
California Indian Nations College tuition (published undergraduate sticker price) is $7,680 in the latest College Scorecard data.
How much does California Indian Nations College cost?
Reported tuition is $7,680 and average net price is N/A in the latest College Scorecard data. On-campus room and board is estimated at $16,000 annually.
What is the student body demographics at California Indian Nations College?
California Indian Nations College reports undergraduate enrollment of about 236 students, Hispanic or Latino (45.1%), American Indian or Alaska Native (35.2%) in federal College Scorecard data.
What is the graduation rate at California Indian Nations College?
The 150%-time completion rate is 66.7% for the cohort reported to the College Scorecard.
Is California Indian Nations College public or private?
California Indian Nations College is a public institution located in Palm Desert, CA.
Is California Indian Nations College an HBCU?
No. California Indian Nations College is not flagged as an HBCU in the IPEDS institutional directory.
Is California Indian Nations College a tribal college?
No. California Indian Nations College is not flagged as a tribal college in IPEDS.
Is California Indian Nations College religiously affiliated?
No religious affiliation is reported for California Indian Nations College in IPEDS institutional characteristics.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
- Related geography & profiles
- California college profile
- California college costs
- California colleges by ROI
- California trade schools profile
- Palm Desert, California city profile
- Far West regional profile
- Town college profile
- Campus-setting profiles
- All state profiles
- Regional profiles
- National benchmarks
- School directory
- All schools in California
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology & Data Scope
This profile uses institution-level fields from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, merged with IPEDS directory attributes where needed for locale, ownership, and program completions.
Benchmark rows compare this campus to NCES locale-type medians (for example Suburban) from our processed location extract. Implied U.S. medians are derived from locale-vs-national percentage fields in that extract—not a separate national Scorecard table.