This dissertation explored multiple factors that impact the satisfaction and success of low socioeconomic status students at a California community college. In an effort to illuminate this impact, a quantitative study investigating extant data collected from a campus climate survey was conducted. The researcher was specifically interested in determining the effect of poverty on student success and whether there were any differences in satisfaction among student groups disaggregated by ethnicity, gender, generational status, and by participation in various programs and services, including retention-related programs. Research questions addressed (a) the underlying set of satisfaction factors that best explain the satisfaction items of the survey, (b) the relationships between ethnicity, gender, and age with the satisfaction scales, (c) differences between students based on participation in retention programs, and (d) inferences that can be drawn looking at trend data for the survey over time. Results of the investigation did not show any differences in satisfaction between millennial and non-millennial students; however, there were statistically significant difference by gender, ethnicity, and participation in retention-related programs and services. The effect of poverty and implications for policy, practice, theory, and future research are discussed.