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Public College

Chadron State College

Public College in Chadron, NE. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $47,002.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Chadron State College · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$47,002
Median debt at grad
$18,875
Mobility score
1.9
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
50.4%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten years after entry, the median Chadron State College student earns $47,002 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 50% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $18,875 in debt — in line with the national norm.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Academics

Full-time retention
63%
Transfer-out rate
27%
Student:faculty
15:1

Completion is middling: 50% finish inside six years. 63% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five are gone before sophomore year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. 27% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$13,292
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
87%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
54%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,634 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $13,292 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $10,047 at $0–30k, $16,047 at $110k+. 87% of students get grant aid averaging $8,359, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Federal borrowing reaches 54% of students.

Entering first-year students

A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.

% receiving grants
98%
Average grant
$7,724

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 315 students

Net price by family income

The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.

Family income band Average net price
$0–30k $10,047
$30–48k $10,090
$48–75k $12,561
$75–110k $14,674
$110k+ $16,047

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 885 of these 1,634 students, totalling $4,755,772 — an average of $5,374 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Dawes County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$715/mo
1 bedroom
$786/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,031/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
67
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Chadron State College with peer institutions

How we evaluate Chadron State College

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →