Spartanburg Community College
Public Community College in Spartanburg, SC. Six-year graduation rate 28%. Median 10-year earnings $37,097.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $37,097, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 28% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $6,500, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.18 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 28% — below national average
Academics
Only 28% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. First-year retention is 63% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 42% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 16:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,055 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $3,175 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 — $2,669 at $0–30k against $6,046 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Most students get help: 89% receive grants worth $5,614 on average. Only 5% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 774 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 | $2,669 |
| $30–48k | $1,595 |
| $48–75k | $2,132 |
| $75–110k | $3,583 |
| $110k+ | $6,046 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 275 of these 5,055 students, totalling $915,827 — an average of $3,330 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Spartanburg 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)