Cleveland Community College
Public Community College in Shelby, NC. Six-year graduation rate 32%. Median 10-year earnings $33,755.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $33,755, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 32% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 32% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 32% graduate within six years. 20% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. Unusually, part-time retention (39%) beats full-time, pointing to a student body that is part-time by design. The 15:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. This is a public community college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,351 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $706 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $498 at $0–30k against $3,987 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 75% of students at an average of $5,693.
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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 124 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 | $498 |
| $30–48k | $1,600 |
| $48–75k | $1,676 |
| $75–110k | $3,987 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cleveland County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)