Public · College

Dalton State College

Dalton, Georgia · Small city

#1 best value in Georgia
Admit rate
$5,012
Avg net price
25%
Graduation rate
$40,251
Median earnings

Dalton State College is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Dalton, Georgia (small city setting), enrolling 4,553 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

PublicMidsize · 4,553 undergradsSmall cityNAIA Division ICold winters

About Dalton, Georgia

Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. Woodland Indians and Creek Nation initially held the area of present-day Dalton, Georgia. The first recorded white man in the area was Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto (1540). The Creative Arts Guild is the oldest multidisciplinary community arts center in Georgia. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
To the ocean
284 miles
Nearest airport
21 miles to Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (Lovell Field) (CHA)

How Dalton State College compares

Graduation rate25%

Higher than 9% · #44 of 54 in Georgia

First-year retention71%

Higher than 33%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,251

Higher than 15% · #40 of 54 in Georgia

Average net price$5,012

Cheaper than 98% · #1 cheapest of 54 in Georgia

Median debt at graduation$12,937

Lower than 94%

Student–faculty ratio21 : 1

Lower than 8%

Undergraduate enrollment4,553

Larger than 76%

Percentiles compare Dalton State College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Georgia.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

4,553undergrads
  • Women2,72560%
  • Men1,82840%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White50%
  • Black4.4%
  • Hispanic39%
  • Asian1.6%
  • Other or multiracial5.7%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
4,553
Student–faculty ratio
21 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
50%
First-generation students
51%
Students over 25
17%
Median family income
$31,184
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$68,130
Endowment
$20,529,474

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 1,088 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Georgia99%
  • Other U.S. states0.9%

Most first-years stay in state — Dalton State 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
$3,336
Out-of-state tuition
$10,656
Room & board
$10,419
Books & supplies
$1,250
Total cost of attendance
$12,719
Average net price
$5,012

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 (within 6 years)
25%
Graduated on time (4 years)
8%
First-year retention
71%
Transferred to another college
31%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$37,491
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$40,251
Median debt at graduation
$12,937
Students with federal loans
14%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
39%

About 17% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
8%
Low-income (Pell)
19%
First-generation
19%

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
Yes
Dorm capacity
365
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
8%
Housing charge (year)
$5,700
Meal plan (year)
$3,536
Application fee
$30
Athletics
NAIA Division I
Varsity athletes
111 (48 men · 63 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 (5)

Soccer56
Track and Field (Outdoor)16
Basketball14
Golf14
Cross Country11

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.9 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
12
Property offenses (2022–2024)
2

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (5,135 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.

4.7reported offenses a year
4.0 violent a year0.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
2.7
Fondling
1.0
Statutory rape
0.3
Burglary
0.3
Motor vehicle theft
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
$3,962
$30–48k
$3,788
$48–75k
$6,042
$75–110k
$8,114
$110k+
$10,055

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.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$30,427

$6,042/year × about 5.0 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

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.

3%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$4,407
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 3% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $4,407. 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 764 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)
$40,251
Typical debt at graduation
$12,937
Debt vs. one year's pay
32%
Out-earn a HS grad
47%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.2 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
$36,521
Men
$45,465

Men out-earn women by $8,944 (24%) 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
57.5″
Annual snow
0.7″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.85.5JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Dalton, GA US station (6.6 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 Dalton State College

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

Colleges near Dalton State 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.