Tennessee College
of Applied Technology-Murfreesboro
Public Community College in Murfreesboro, TN. Six-year graduation rate 76%. Median 10-year earnings $40,869.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $40,869, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. 76% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Graduation rate 76% — well above the national average
Academics
A 76% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention of 79% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention drops to 61% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 20:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. As a public community college, the relevant comparison is other two-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,001 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $7,754 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $1,020 at $0–30k against $8,341 at $75–110k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 92% of students get grant aid averaging $3,950, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay.
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 · 356 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 | $1,020 |
| $30–48k | $2,270 |
| $48–75k | $8,579 |
| $75–110k | $8,341 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Rutherford 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)