Wake Technical
Community College
Public Community College in Raleigh, NC. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $41,769.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $41,769, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $12,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — 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 33% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 33% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. First-year retention is 72% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. 18% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 55% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,605 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,767 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $6,682 while those at $110k+ pay $15,067. About 61% get grants averaging $4,167, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 19% 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 · 1,868 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 | $6,682 |
| $30–48k | $7,486 |
| $48–75k | $9,108 |
| $75–110k | $12,603 |
| $110k+ | $15,067 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,538 of these 18,605 students, totalling $20,535,874 — an average of $5,804 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wake 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)