Lamar Institute
of Technology
Public Community College in Beaumont, TX. Six-year graduation rate 31%. Median 10-year earnings $38,991.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $38,991, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Completion is the weak point: 31% graduate within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $13,076 — modest by four-year standards. It also moves people — 4.7% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.34 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 31% — below national average
Academics
Only 31% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 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. Retention drops to 53% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The student-faculty ratio is 22:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,937 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $12,382 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Net price varies modestly by income — $12,877 at $0–30k against $18,932 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 56% get grants averaging $7,209, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 23% 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 · 468 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 | $12,877 |
| $30–48k | $13,207 |
| $48–75k | $15,622 |
| $75–110k | $17,451 |
| $110k+ | $18,932 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 665 of these 2,937 students, totalling $4,416,740 — an average of $6,642 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Jefferson County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026