Williston State College
Public Community College in Williston, ND. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $44,017.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,017 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 42%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,099 — modest by four-year standards. It also moves people — 3.2% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution 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 0.23 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is middling: 42% finish inside six years. 66% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The part-time picture is harder: 31% return, against 66% full-time. At 21:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 684 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,169 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $4,454 at $0–30k against $8,854 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Most students get help: 90% receive grants worth $7,633 on average. 18% 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 · 246 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 | $4,454 |
| $30–48k | $3,213 |
| $48–75k | $5,026 |
| $75–110k | $7,187 |
| $110k+ | $8,854 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 125 of these 684 students, totalling $751,680 — an average of $6,013 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Williams 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)