Henderson Community College
Public Community College in Henderson, KY. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $35,714.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $35,714, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 35% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,483 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 35% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 35% graduate within six years. 68% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Transfer-out runs to 18% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 57% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 876 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $6,577 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $3,040 while those at $110k+ pay $11,877. Grant aid is widespread — 85% of students receive it, averaging $5,547. 21% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 123 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 | $3,040 |
| $30–48k | $2,199 |
| $48–75k | $5,753 |
| $75–110k | $7,346 |
| $110k+ | $11,877 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 188 of these 876 students, totalling $1,035,592 — an average of $5,508 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Henderson 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)