Marshalltown Community College
Public Community College in Marshalltown, IA. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $41,010.
Ten-year median earnings of $41,010 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 42%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $9,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 42%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. 69% 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. A 13% 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. Retention drops to 26% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 863 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,724 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $6,393 at $0–30k, $11,686 at $110k+. About 81% get grants averaging $6,303, 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 · 315 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 | $6,393 |
| $30–48k | $6,482 |
| $48–75k | $7,797 |
| $75–110k | $10,546 |
| $110k+ | $11,686 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 201 of these 863 students, totalling $1,074,643 — an average of $5,346 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Marshall 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)