West Kentucky
Community and Technical College
Public Community College in Paducah, KY. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $34,891.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $34,891, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Six-year completion sits at 50%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates leave owing a median of $8,986 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Six-year completion sits at 50%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 71% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Retention drops to 53% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. At 18:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,810 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $7,834 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The income table below is the number that matters — $4,345 at $0–30k versus $12,695 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 89% of students receive it, averaging $5,736. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 17% of students.
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 · 564 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 | $4,345 |
| $30–48k | $4,561 |
| $48–75k | $6,414 |
| $75–110k | $9,291 |
| $110k+ | $12,695 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 483 of these 2,810 students, totalling $2,798,214 — an average of $5,793 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (McCracken 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)