Pre-Read · Bunker Hill site visit, Thursday, October 1
Community colleges are the core engine of US economic mobility
The national picture, and a deep dive on Bunker Hill Community College
2 in 5
of all U.S. undergraduates are community college students — about 10.6 million people
a year across 1,015 colleges once non-credit and workforce training are counted.1 Elite
four-year institutions educate a small slice of the country. This is the other one.
Who these students are · Fall 2024 unless noted
67%
attend part‑time — 4.4M of 6.5M credit students1
27
average age; median 23, and 40% are 22 or older1
32%
are the first in their family to attend college1
~23%
raise dependent children — 2× the four‑year rate2
59%
of full‑time students hold a job while enrolled1
13%
are single parents; 23% have a disability1
74%
receive financial aid; 61% get federal grants1
814,211
associate degrees awarded in 2023–241
What it costs · Published tuition & fees, 2025–26
$4,150
Public two‑year, in‑district3
$11,950
Public four‑year, in‑state3
$45,000
Private nonprofit four‑year3
Grant aid has on average covered published tuition and fees outright for first-time full-time two-year students since 2009–10.3 The constraint on completion is rarely tuition — it is rent, childcare, transportation, and hours sold to an employer.
What the degree is worth — and where the leak is
+$8,800
median earnings premium for an associate degree ($57,148) over a high school diploma ($48,360)1
33%
transfer to a four‑year institution — though 80% say they want a bachelor’s degree4
16%
earn that bachelor’s within six years; 11% of low‑income students do4
That gap is the whole opportunity. Once a student actually arrives at a public four-year campus, 57% finish a bachelor’s within four years — talent is not the problem.4 The losses happen in the handoff: credits that do not transfer, advising that does not exist, and life events without a safety net.
Massachusetts
1 in 2
Massachusetts public higher‑ed students attends a community college — 86,321 of 172,4995
+38.5%
growth in community college enrollment since fall 2022, as free tuition took hold5
+69%
growth in first‑time enrollment since fall 2022 — the steepest rise5
25
states now offer a tuition‑free pathway to a degree or credential7
Massachusetts made community college tuition-free through MassReconnect (2023) and then MassEducate (2024), which extended it to students of any age or income — among the most comprehensive designs in the country.6 Twenty-five states now run some form of statewide “promise” program, but most are narrower: limited to recent high school graduates, or gated by GPA or field of study.7 Community colleges are now the fastest-growing segment of Massachusetts public higher education.5
Bunker Hill Community College
19,000+
enrolled annually across credit, non‑credit and dual‑enrollment programs8
64%
attend part‑time — 6,478 of 10,167 credit students9
26
average age; students range from 18 to 819
64%
are students of color; 724 are international students9
Sources
- American Association of Community Colleges, Fast Facts 2026 — Fall 2024 enrollment; 2023–24 awards; 2019–20 employment and aid; 2025 median earnings. AACC puts community college students at 39% of U.S. undergraduates; Columbia CCRC puts it at 40%. aacc.nche.edu
- Columbia CCRC / NCES NPSAS:UG 2020 — 23% of public two-year students have dependent children vs. 11% at public four-year; 59% of student parents attend part-time and 43% work 30+ hours a week (CCCSE, 2025).
- College Board, Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2025. collegeboard.org
- Columbia CCRC, Community College Transfer, and CCRC / National Student Clearinghouse Tracking Transfer. ccrc.tc.columbia.edu
- Mass. Dept. of Higher Education, Fall 2025 enrollment — 172,499 total public; 86,321 community college, 31,761 state university, 54,817 UMass. mass.edu/datacenter
- Mass. Dept. of Higher Education, MassEducate / MassReconnect. mass.edu/masseducate
- W.E. Upjohn Institute, State Promise Programs Database (2024), in Tuition-Free College Options for Michigan, May 2024 — 25 states offer a tuition-free pathway to degrees or credentials. Counts elsewhere run higher (30+) under looser definitions. upjohn.org
- Mass. Association of Community Colleges, BHCC profile. masscc.org/bunkerhill
- BHCC Office of Institutional Research, Fast Facts — 10,167 credit students (6,478 part-time / 3,689 full-time), average age 26, 64% students of color, 724 international students from 94 countries. bhcc.edu
About Goodman Philanthropies
Goodman Philanthropies supports innovative, evidence-based solutions that expand economic mobility across the United States. We prioritize approaches that combine rigor, innovation, and scale to move the needle on poverty and opportunity. Bennett & Meg Goodman, alongside their children Jared, Alex, and Julia, are committed to expanding economic mobility in the United States through wage-building and wealth-building initiatives.
Learn more at goodmanphilanthropies.org/about
· See our portfolio at goodmanphilanthropies.org/portfolio
