Public · Community college

Columbus Technical College

Columbus, Georgia · Midsize city

9%
Transfer rate
$4,001
Avg net price
27%
Grad / completion
$34,238
Median earnings

Columbus Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Columbus, Georgia (midsize city setting), enrolling 2,719 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,719 undergradsMidsize city

About Columbus, Georgia

Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Founded in 1828 by an act of the Georgia Legislature, Columbus was situated at the beginning of the navigable portion of the Chattahoochee River and on the last stretch of the Federal Road before entering Alabama. The city was named for Christopher Columbus. Columbus is home to upwards of 50 parks, four recreation centers, four senior centers and parks, and the Standing Boy Creek Park. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
3 miles to Columbus, GA
To the ocean
155 miles
Nearest airport
2 miles to Columbus (CSG)

How Columbus Technical College compares

Graduation rate27%

Higher than 9% · #60 of 72 in Georgia

First-year retention52%

Higher than 13%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$34,238

Higher than 47% · #24 of 66 in Georgia

Average net price$4,001

Cheaper than 94% · #8 cheapest of 73 in Georgia

Median debt at graduation$8,756

Lower than 67%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment2,719

Larger than 85%

Percentiles compare Columbus Technical 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 Georgia.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

2,719undergrads
  • Women1,87969%
  • Men84031%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White29%
  • Black54%
  • Hispanic9.7%
  • Asian0.9%
  • Other or multiracial6.7%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
2,719
Student–faculty ratio
16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
57%
First-generation students
42%
Students over 25
45%
Median family income
$17,754
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$48,699

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 657 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Georgia84%
  • Other U.S. states16%

Most first-years stay in state — Columbus Technical College draws overwhelmingly from Georgia.

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
$4,052
Out-of-state tuition
$7,262
Room & board
Books & supplies
$600
Total cost of attendance
$13,144
Average net price
$4,001

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
27%
First-year retention
52%
Transferred to another college
9%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$28,884
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$34,238
Median debt at graduation
$8,756
Students with federal loans
0%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
21%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
27%
First-generation
14%

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
$25

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)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (3,307 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 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
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
$3,383
$30–48k
$4,543
$48–75k
$6,170
$75–110k
$110k+

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?

Columbus Technical 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)
$34,238
Typical debt at graduation
$8,756
Debt vs. one year's pay
26%
Out-earn a HS grad
37%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.6 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
$32,595
Men
$38,313

Men out-earn women by $5,718 (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
93°F
Winter low
38°F
Annual rain
48.8″
Annual snow
0.5″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.54.9JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Columbus Metro AP, GA US station (2.2 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 Columbus Technical College

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

Colleges near Columbus Technical 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.