East Central College
Public Community College in Union, MO. Six-year graduation rate 48%. Median 10-year earnings $36,916.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $36,916, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Six-year completion sits at 48%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $9,500, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
48% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 67% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three 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. A 15% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 44% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,719 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $12,708 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $12,281 at $0–30k, $17,560 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 84% of students at an average of $5,238. Only 12% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 553 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 | $12,281 |
| $30–48k | $11,895 |
| $48–75k | $14,271 |
| $75–110k | $14,999 |
| $110k+ | $17,560 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 202 of these 1,719 students, totalling $1,167,653 — an average of $5,780 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Franklin 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)