Lehigh Carbon
Community College
Public Community College in Schnecksville, PA. Six-year graduation rate 30%. Median 10-year earnings $42,436.
Ten years after entry, the median Lehigh Carbon Community College student earns $42,436 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is the weak point: 30% graduate within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $11,000 — 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 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 30% — below national average
Academics
Only 30% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Just 59% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 19% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 41% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,465 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,645 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $7,219 at $0–30k, $14,702 at $110k+. About 60% get grants averaging $6,171, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 29% 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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 747 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 | $7,219 |
| $30–48k | $7,820 |
| $48–75k | $9,908 |
| $75–110k | $13,079 |
| $110k+ | $14,702 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,313 of these 4,465 students, totalling $8,653,368 — an average of $6,591 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lehigh 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)