Public · Community college

Alpena Community College

Alpena, Michigan · Remote town

6%
Transfer rate
$3,320
Avg net price
52%
Grad / completion
$36,442
Median earnings

Alpena Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Alpena, Michigan (remote town setting), enrolling 732 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 732 undergradsRemote townNJCAA Division IICold wintersSnowy

About Alpena, Michigan

Alpena is the only city in and the county seat of Alpena County, Michigan, United States. The Alpena area is home to the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi people. These people groups inhabit the area surrounding the Great Lakes, including Michigan. Alpena is served by a number of institutions that enhance the artistic and cultural character of the city, reflecting its rich heritage in Great Lakes shipping and industry. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Remote town
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
171 miles to Lansing, MI
To Great Lakes shore
1 mile
Nearest airport
6 miles to Alpena County (APN)

How Alpena Community College compares

Graduation rate52%

Higher than 39% · #54 of 96 in Michigan

First-year retention50%

Higher than 11%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$36,442

Higher than 54% · #24 of 88 in Michigan

Average net price$3,320

Cheaper than 96% · #8 cheapest of 94 in Michigan

Median debt at graduation$9,024

Lower than 65%

Student–faculty ratio15 : 1

Lower than 56%

Undergraduate enrollment732

Larger than 68%

Percentiles compare Alpena Community College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Michigan.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

732undergrads
  • Women34547%
  • Men38753%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White86%
  • Black2.2%
  • Hispanic4.2%
  • Asian0.7%
  • Other or multiracial6.4%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
732
Student–faculty ratio
15 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
22%
First-generation students
43%
Students over 25
14%
Median family income
$25,707
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$88,740
Endowment
$11,345,584

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 267 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Michigan100%

Most first-years stay in state — Alpena Community College draws overwhelmingly from Michigan.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition
$5,250
Out-of-state tuition
$8,010
Room & board
$8,815
Books & supplies
$1,290
Total cost of attendance
$12,246
Average net price
$3,320

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
52%
Graduated on time (4 years)
100%
First-year retention
50%
Transferred to another college
6%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$35,275
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$36,442
Median debt at graduation
$9,024
Students with federal loans
10%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
38%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
100%
Low-income (Pell)
31%
First-generation
31%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
64
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
9%
Housing charge (year)
$4,600
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NJCAA Division II
Varsity athletes
85 (48 men · 37 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (5)

Baseball27
Basketball24
Softball15
Volleyball12
Cross Country7

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (1,581 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

0.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$590
$30–48k
$897
$48–75k
$2,630
$75–110k
$6,811
$110k+
$10,623

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$10,520

$2,630/year × about 4.0 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

40%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,902
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 40% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,902. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 194 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$36,442
Typical debt at graduation
$9,024
Debt vs. one year's pay
25%
Out-earn a HS grad
41%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$31,063
Men
$47,274

Men out-earn women by $16,211 (52%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
77°F
Winter low
13°F
Annual rain
31.9″
Annual snow
59.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.83.5JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Alpena Wwtp, MI US station (1.7 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Alpena Community College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Alpena Community College side by side →

Colleges near Alpena Community College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.