A socioeconomic status (SES) variable was developed and tested as a way to help identify high risk college students at the Community College of Philadelphia. Each city zip code was placed into either the lower, middle, or upper category, and students were assigned a SES measure based on their resident zip code. Using city-wide census data, the following five categories of economic and social indicators were available for all the 49 zip codes: population, income, poverty, educational attainment, and employment in the civilian labor force. Seven out of 13 variables were retained and factor analyzed: mean per-capita income, median household income, percentage of persons below the poverty level, percentage of high school and college graduates, percentage of individuals on unemployment, and percentage of individuals on work disability. Significant differences were found across SES groups for the following high-risk student indicators: reading placement test scores, grade point average (GPA), and course withdrawals. The SES variable was also applied in a holistic assessment for four outcome groups: high GPA dropouts, low GPA dropouts, students who were still enrolled, and completors. Numerous tables and a map are provided. (SW)