Public · Community college

Cape Fear Community College

Wilmington, North Carolina · Midsize city

2%
Transfer rate
$9,610
Avg net price
34%
Grad / completion
$38,654
Median earnings

Cape Fear Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Wilmington, North Carolina (midsize city setting), enrolling 9,764 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 9,764 undergradsMidsize cityOtherNear the coast

About Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. After going through a series of different names (New Carthage, New London, Newton), its name became Wilmington. The complex has been in continuous operation since it opened in 1858 and houses three performance venues, the Main Stage, the Grand Ballroom, and the Studio Theater. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
1 mile to Wilmington, NC
To the ocean
3 miles
Nearest airport
3 miles to Wilmington (ILM)

How Cape Fear Community College compares

Graduation rate34%

Higher than 19% · #72 of 90 in North Carolina

First-year retention67%

Higher than 39%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,654

Higher than 63% · #8 of 84 in North Carolina

Average net price$9,610

Cheaper than 72% · #52 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina

Median debt at graduation$9,500

Lower than 57%

Student–faculty ratio13 : 1

Lower than 67%

Undergraduate enrollment9,764

Larger than 96%

Percentiles compare Cape Fear 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

9,764undergrads
  • Women5,51556%
  • Men4,24944%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White65%
  • Black9.7%
  • Hispanic12%
  • Asian1.3%
  • Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
9,764
Student–faculty ratio
13 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
18%
First-generation students
38%
Students over 25
41%
Median family income
$20,638
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$61,830
Endowment
$23,310,676

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 1,573 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From North Carolina96%
  • Other U.S. states3.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Cape Fear Community College draws overwhelmingly from North Carolina.

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
$2,748
Out-of-state tuition
$8,892
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,600
Total cost of attendance
$14,740
Average net price
$9,610

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
34%
First-year retention
67%
Transferred to another college
2%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$32,234
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$38,654
Median debt at graduation
$9,500
Students with federal loans
4%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
25%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
34%
Low-income (Pell)
9%
First-generation
10%

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
Athletics
Other
Varsity athletes
89 (40 men · 49 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 (3)

Soccer48
Basketball28
Volleyball13

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

Campus safety

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

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 4 campuses (14,082 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

Robbery
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
$7,221
$30–48k
$11,035
$48–75k
$10,335
$75–110k
$14,030
$110k+
$14,507

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.

1%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,820
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 1% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,820. 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 614 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)
$38,654
Typical debt at graduation
$9,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
25%
Out-earn a HS grad
42%

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
$35,619
Men
$42,095

Men out-earn women by $6,476 (18%) 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
90°F
Winter low
36°F
Annual rain
60.1″
Annual snow
0.9″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.04.38.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Wilmington Intl AP, NC US station (3.3 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 Cape Fear Community College

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

Colleges near Cape Fear 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.