Public · Community college

Durham Technical Community College

Durham, North Carolina · Large city

15%
Transfer rate: $1,664
Avg net price: 45%
Grad / completion: $36,142
Median earnings

Durham Technical Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Durham, North Carolina (large city setting), enrolling 3,890 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 3,890 undergradsLarge cityCold winters

About Durham, North Carolina

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The Eno and the Occoneechi, related to the Sioux and the Shakori, lived in the area and may have established a village named Adshusheer (or Ajusher) in the area which became Durham. The Occaneechi Path, a corridor of trading roads and trails, went through the area. Durham is the venue for the annual Bull Durham Blues Festival and the OUTsouth Queer Film Festival, the 2nd largest LGBTQ+ film festival in the Southeast. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 2 miles to Durham, NC
To the ocean: 107 miles
Nearest airport: 8 miles to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) · major hub

How Durham Technical Community College compares

Graduation rate45%

Higher than 31% · #51 of 90 in North Carolina

First-year retention66%

Higher than 36%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$36,142

Higher than 53% · #19 of 84 in North Carolina

Average net price$1,664

Cheaper than 99% · #6 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina

Median debt at graduation$14,750

Lower than 15%

Student–faculty ratio7 : 1

Lower than 92%

Undergraduate enrollment3,890

Larger than 89%

Percentiles compare Durham Technical 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

Women2,44763%
Men1,44337%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White22%
Black34%
Hispanic23%
Asian4.7%
Other or multiracial16%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 3,890
Student–faculty ratio: 7 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 31%
First-generation students: 42%
Students over 25: 36%
Median family income: $18,500
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $60,480

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

Cost

In-state tuition: $1,986
Out-of-state tuition: $6,594
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,300
Total cost of attendance: $10,430
Average net price: $1,664

Outcomes

Graduated: 45%
First-year retention: 66%
Transferred to another college: 15%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $31,129
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $36,142
Median debt at graduation: $14,750
Students with federal loans: 7%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 19%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

45%

Low-income (Pell)

11%

First-generation

11%

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

Campus safety

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

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

$525

$30–48k

$1,495

$48–75k

$2,850

$75–110k

$9,407

$110k+

$9,930

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.

38%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$984

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 38% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $984. 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 172 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): $36,142
Typical debt at graduation: $14,750
Debt vs. one year's pay: 41%
Out-earn a HS grad: 38%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.1 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

$34,998

Men

$38,109

Men out-earn women by $3,111 (9%) 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: 87°F
Winter low: 28°F
Annual rain: 48.6″
Annual snow: 5.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Durham, NC US station (6.5 mi from campus).

What Durham Technical Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

402 grads$24k 1 yr$43k 5 yr$11k debt

402$23,876$43,222$11,321 Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

87 grads$47k 1 yr— 5 yr$10k debt

87$46,966—$10,208 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsCert.

80 grads$33k 1 yr— 5 yr$26k debt

80$33,260—$25,522 Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and ServicesCert.

75 grads$26k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

75$26,246——Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCert.

61 grads$50k 1 yr— 5 yr$18k debt

61$49,893—$17,750 Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

55 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

55———Health and Medical Administrative ServicesCert.

46 grads$70k 1 yr$69k 5 yr$25k debt

46$70,267$69,257$25,000 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

42 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

42———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

41 grads$66k 1 yr$74k 5 yr$21k debt

41$66,430$74,092$21,448 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

40 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr$25k debt

40——$24,617 Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

36 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

36———Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssoc.

28 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

28———

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 Durham Technical Community College

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

Johnston Community College

Public

Smithfield, North Carolina · Fringe town · 26 mi to Raleigh

Students: 3,453
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 24%
Earnings: $37k

Wayne Community College

Public

Goldsboro, North Carolina · Small city · 47 mi to Raleigh

Students: 2,739
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $34k

College of the Albemarle

Public

Elizabeth City, North Carolina · Distant town · 37 mi to Norfolk

Students: 2,001
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 31%
Earnings: $33k

Craven Community College

Public

New Bern, North Carolina · Distant town · 78 mi to Wilmington

Students: 1,989
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $34k

Victor Valley College

Public

Victorville, California · Large suburb · 35 mi to Riverside

Students: 4,210
Tuition: $1k
Transfer: 10%
Earnings: $36k

Rockingham Community College

Public

Wentworth, North Carolina · Fringe rural · 22 mi to Greensboro

Students: 1,065
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $32k

Colleges near Durham Technical Community College

North Carolina Central University

Durham, NC · Public · Bachelor's · 6,081 students

1 mi

Bull City Durham Beauty and Barber College

Durham, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 41 students

1 mi

Duke University

Durham, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 6,442 students

4 mi

Watts College of Nursing

Durham, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 124 students

5 mi

Aveda Institute-Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 198 students

9 mi

Paul Mitchell the School-Raleigh

Raleigh, NC · Private for-profit · Certificate · 130 students

10 mi

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC · Public · Bachelor's · 20,752 students

10 mi

Meredith College

Raleigh, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,188 students

16 mi

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.