North Country
Community College
Public Community College in Saranac Lake, NY. Six-year graduation rate 29%. Median 10-year earnings $38,276.
Students who entered North Country Community College reach a median of $38,276 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 29% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,000. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.5% of students move from the bottom income quintile 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 0.31 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 29% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 29% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 51% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one 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 21% 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 38% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 766 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,804 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The income table below is the number that matters — $8,329 at $0–30k versus $16,928 at $110k+. 100% of students get grant aid averaging $6,059, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 41% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 263 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 | $8,329 |
| $30–48k | $13,216 |
| $48–75k | $14,387 |
| $75–110k | $16,668 |
| $110k+ | $16,928 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 317 of these 766 students, totalling $1,662,885 — an average of $5,246 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Essex 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)