This essay uses longitudinal transcript data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 to create transcript-based portraits of traditional-age community college students. These portraits focus on academic behaviors, including entry point, attendance patterns, persistence, course selection, and success to identify six basic populations described by age, the type of institution they attend, transfer rates, and educational expectations. The authors present this information through a metaphor that treats the community college as a “town” where students may visit or take up residence.