Public · Community college
Cleveland Community College
Shelby, North Carolina · Distant town
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $995
- Avg net price
- 32%
- Grad / completion
- $33,755
- Median earnings
Cleveland Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Shelby, North Carolina (distant town setting), enrolling 1,097 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Shelby, North Carolina
Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina. Shelby was agricultural until the railways in the 1870s stimulated Shelby's development. The 2004 film adaptation of Blood Done Sign My Name was filmed in Shelby – as well as the reaping scene in the 2012 film adaptation of The Hunger Games, and the 1982 slasher film Death Screams. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Distant town
- Highest degree offered
- Associate
- Nearest big city
- 37 miles to Charlotte, NC
- To the ocean
- 182 miles
- Nearest airport
- 31 miles to Charlotte Douglas (CLT) · major hub
How Cleveland Community College compares
Higher than 15% · #78 of 90 in North Carolina
Higher than 2%
Higher than 45% · #39 of 84 in North Carolina
Cheaper than 99% · #3 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina
Lower than 56%
Larger than 74%
Percentiles compare Cleveland 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
- Women70464%
- Men39336%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White67%
- Black23%
- Hispanic3.6%
- Other or multiracial5.9%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,097
- Student–faculty ratio
- 15 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 52%
- First-generation students
- 49%
- Students over 25
- 29%
- Median family income
- $17,997
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $56,799
- Endowment
- $2,880,461
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $2,602
- Out-of-state tuition
- $8,746
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $1,200
- Total cost of attendance
- $5,565
- Average net price
- $995
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
- 32%
- First-year retention
- 20%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $30,126
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $33,755
- Median debt at graduation
- —
- Students with federal loans
- 0%
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
- Athletics
- NJCAA Division II
- Varsity athletes
- 137 (91 men · 46 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 (6)
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)
- 0
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,558 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.
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?
Cleveland Community College funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.
Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $33,755
- Typical debt at graduation
- —
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- —
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 33%
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.
Men out-earn women by $9,625 (32%) 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
- 91°F
- Winter low
- 27°F
- Annual rain
- 50.4″
- Annual snow
- 4″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Shelby 2 NW, NC US station (4.9 mi from campus).
What Cleveland 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 Cleveland Community College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Cleveland Community College side by side →
Piedmont Community College
Roxboro, North Carolina · Fringe rural · 31 mi to Durham
- Students
- 457
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 10%
- Earnings
- $33k
Edgecombe Community College
Tarboro, North Carolina · Fringe rural · 60 mi to Raleigh
- Students
- 1,397
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $33k
Wilkes Community College
Wilkesboro, North Carolina · Distant town · 52 mi to Winston-Salem
- Students
- 1,355
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 6%
- Earnings
- $35k
Rockingham Community College
Wentworth, North Carolina · Fringe rural · 22 mi to Greensboro
- Students
- 1,065
- Tuition
- $2k
- Transfer
- 13%
- Earnings
- $32k
James Sprunt Community College
Kenansville, North Carolina · Distant rural · 50 mi to Wilmington
- Students
- 799
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 2%
- Earnings
- $29k
College of the Albemarle
Elizabeth City, North Carolina · Distant town · 37 mi to Norfolk
- Students
- 2,001
- Tuition
- $2k
- Transfer
- 31%
- Earnings
- $33k
Colleges near Cleveland Community College
Gardner-Webb University
Boiling Springs, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,856 students
Gaston College
Dallas, NC · Public · Certificate · 3,518 students
Isothermal Community College
Spindale, NC · Public · Certificate · 1,169 students
Belmont Abbey College
Belmont, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,276 students
Catawba Valley Community College
Hickory, NC · Public · Associate · 2,741 students
Western Piedmont Community College
Morganton, NC · Public · Associate · 1,339 students
Carolinas College of Health Sciences
Charlotte, NC · Public · Certificate · 533 students
Converse University
Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,173 students
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.