Public · Community college
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Asheville, North Carolina · Small city
- 9%
- Transfer rate
- $11,602
- Avg net price
- 40%
- Grad / completion
- $36,048
- Median earnings
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Asheville, North Carolina (small city setting), enrolling 5,110 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Before the arrival of the European Colonists, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation, which had homelands in modern western North and South Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia. Live music is a significant element in the tourism-based economy of Asheville and the surrounding area. Seasonal festivals and numerous nightclubs and performance venues offer opportunities for visitors and locals to attend a wide variety of live entertainment events. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Associate
- Nearest big city
- 2 miles to Asheville, NC
- To the ocean
- 231 miles
- Nearest airport
- 9 miles to Asheville (AVL)
How Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College compares
Higher than 25% · #58 of 90 in North Carolina
Higher than 21%
Higher than 52% · #20 of 84 in North Carolina
Cheaper than 64% · #58 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina
Lower than 13%
Lower than 67%
Larger than 91%
Percentiles compare Asheville-Buncombe Technical 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 North Carolina.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women2,97958%
- Men2,13142%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White67%
- Black5.3%
- Hispanic16%
- Asian1.7%
- Other or multiracial10.0%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 5,110
- Student–faculty ratio
- 13 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 36%
- First-generation students
- 39%
- Students over 25
- 29%
- Median family income
- $20,034
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $54,288
- Endowment
- $7,912,625
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $2,882
- Out-of-state tuition
- $9,026
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $2,000
- Total cost of attendance
- $16,061
- Average net price
- $11,602
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
- 40%
- First-year retention
- 59%
- Transferred to another college
- 9%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $32,630
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $36,048
- Median debt at graduation
- $15,528
- Students with federal loans
- 3%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 29%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- No
- Application fee
- Free
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%.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- A
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.1 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 2
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 4 campuses (6,510 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
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.
Modest institutional aid: 4% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,422. 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 380 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)
- $36,048
- Typical debt at graduation
- $15,528
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 43%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 42%
Typical debt would take roughly 4.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $6,501 (19%) 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
- 86°F
- Winter low
- 29°F
- Annual rain
- 40.6″
- Annual snow
- 11.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Asheville, NC US station (1.7 mi from campus).
What Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College graduates study — and earn
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 Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College side by side →
Catawba Valley Community College
Hickory, North Carolina · Small city · 41 mi to Charlotte
- Students
- 2,741
- Tuition
- $2k
- Transfer
- 33%
- Earnings
- $37k
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Salisbury, North Carolina · Large suburb · 34 mi to Winston-Salem
- Students
- 4,164
- Tuition
- $2k
- Transfer
- 16%
- Earnings
- $35k
Coastal Carolina Community College
Jacksonville, North Carolina · Small city · 49 mi to Wilmington
- Students
- 2,724
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 18%
- Earnings
- $36k
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
Hudson, North Carolina · Midsize suburb · 56 mi to Charlotte
- Students
- 2,393
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 17%
- Earnings
- $35k
Guilford Technical Community College
Jamestown, North Carolina · Large suburb · 9 mi to Greensboro
- Students
- 9,260
- Tuition
- $2k
- Transfer
- 14%
- Earnings
- $34k
Cape Fear Community College
Wilmington, North Carolina · Midsize city · 1 mi to Wilmington
- Students
- 9,764
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 2%
- Earnings
- $39k
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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.













