Public · Community college

Central Carolina Community College

Sanford, North Carolina · Distant town

16%
Transfer rate
$5,446
Avg net price
43%
Grad / completion
$33,525
Median earnings

Central Carolina Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Sanford, North Carolina (distant town setting), enrolling 3,237 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 3,237 undergradsDistant townNJCAA Division IICold winters

About Sanford, North Carolina

Sanford is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, North Carolina, United States. Sanford was named for C.O. Sanford, a railroad civil engineer instrumental in the building of the rail lines through the area that formed the foundation of what became the city of Sanford. Sanford is geologically located above the meeting of white beach sand and Piedmont clay, enabling the city to be a producer of clay bricks. In 1959, Sanford produced 10 percent of the bricks in the United States and was named "Brick Capital of the USA". (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant town
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
35 miles to Raleigh, NC
To the ocean
109 miles
Nearest airport
34 miles to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) · major hub

How Central Carolina Community College compares

Graduation rate43%

Higher than 29% · #55 of 90 in North Carolina

First-year retention73%

Higher than 49%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$33,525

Higher than 44% · #41 of 84 in North Carolina

Average net price$5,446

Cheaper than 89% · #27 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 73%

Undergraduate enrollment3,237

Larger than 87%

Percentiles compare Central Carolina 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

3,237undergrads
  • Women2,14966%
  • Men1,08834%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White49%
  • Black19%
  • Hispanic24%
  • Asian1.1%
  • Other or multiracial6.6%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
3,237
Student–faculty ratio
12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
26%
First-generation students
46%
Students over 25
19%
Median family income
$19,822
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$57,843
Endowment
$7,037,500

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$2,711
Out-of-state tuition
$8,855
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,470
Total cost of attendance
$14,901
Average net price
$5,446

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
43%
First-year retention
73%
Transferred to another college
16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$29,774
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$33,525
Median debt at graduation
Students with federal loans
0%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
43%
First-generation
22%

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
NJCAA Division II
Varsity athletes
26 (17 men · 9 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)

Basketball16
Volleyball8
Cross Country2

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

Campus safety

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

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 10 campuses (5,882 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
$4,326
$30–48k
$4,660
$48–75k
$6,961
$75–110k
$8,936
$110k+
$12,542

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.

9%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,049
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 9% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,049. 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 435 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)
$33,525
Typical debt at graduation
Debt vs. one year's pay
Out-earn a HS grad
32%
Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$31,268
Men
$39,197

Men out-earn women by $7,929 (25%) 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
31°F
Annual rain
46.9″
Annual snow
2.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.3JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Sanford 8 NE, NC US station (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 Central Carolina Community College

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

Colleges near Central Carolina 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.