Public · Community college

Kishwaukee College

Malta, Illinois · Fringe rural

16%
Transfer rate: $4,574
Avg net price: 45%
Grad / completion: $39,657
Median earnings

Kishwaukee College is a public associate-granting institution in Malta, Illinois (fringe rural setting), enrolling 1,936 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,936 undergradsFringe ruralNJCAA Division IICold wintersSnowy

About Malta, Illinois

Malta is a village in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. Malta was founded in 1855, under the name of Milton. Shortly afterwards, the name was changed to Etna, then Malta after the Galena (a Maltese Surname) Railway station that served the village. The present name is after the island of Malta. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Fringe rural
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 25 miles to Rockford, IL
To Great Lakes shore: 59 miles
Nearest airport: 21 miles to Chicago Rockford (RFD)

How Kishwaukee College compares

Graduation rate45%

Higher than 31% · #88 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention74%

Higher than 53%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$39,657

Higher than 68% · #29 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$4,574

Cheaper than 93% · #14 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$9,395

Lower than 64%

Student–faculty ratio18 : 1

Lower than 39%

Undergraduate enrollment1,936

Larger than 81%

Percentiles compare Kishwaukee 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 Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1,11357%
Men82343%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White52%
Black14%
Hispanic26%
Asian1.0%
Other or multiracial6.8%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,936
Student–faculty ratio: 18 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 26%
First-generation students: 44%
Students over 25: 23%
Median family income: $21,948
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $72,927
Endowment: $3,622,750

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 538 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Illinois99%

Most first-years stay in state — Kishwaukee College draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

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: $4,560
Out-of-state tuition: $13,680
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,500
Total cost of attendance: $13,901
Average net price: $4,574

Outcomes

Graduated: 45%
First-year retention: 74%
Transferred to another college: 16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $32,532
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $39,657
Median debt at graduation: $9,395
Students with federal loans: 7%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 27%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

45%

Low-income (Pell)

29%

First-generation

29%

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: 172 (111 men · 61 women)

Varsity sports (9)

Soccer37

Baseball34

Basketball34

Softball18

Other Sports18

Volleyball13

Golf7

Bowling6

Cross Country5

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

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

$2,477

$30–48k

$2,548

$48–75k

$5,979

$75–110k

$9,324

$110k+

$13,337

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.

19%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,378

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 19% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,378. 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 342 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): $39,657
Typical debt at graduation: $9,395
Debt vs. one year's pay: 24%
Out-earn a HS grad: 45%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.4 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

$36,638

Men

$44,054

Men out-earn women by $7,416 (20%) 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: 83°F
Winter low: 13°F
Annual rain: 37.2″
Annual snow: 33.1″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, DE Kalb, IL US station (5.4 mi from campus).

What Kishwaukee College graduates study — and earn

Biological and Physical SciencesAssoc.

129 grads$24k 1 yr$46k 5 yr$9k debt

129$24,070$46,287$9,407 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

123 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

123———Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

106 grads$21k 1 yr$46k 5 yr$11k debt

106$21,090$45,897$11,250 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

84 grads$26k 1 yr$38k 5 yr— debt

84$26,141$37,969—Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

45 grads— 1 yr$77k 5 yr— debt

45—$76,831—Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.

31 grads— 1 yr$46k 5 yr— debt

31—$46,064—Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business ServicesCert.

23 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

23———Computer/Information Technology Administration and ManagementCert.

22 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

22———Agricultural MechanizationCert.

15 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

15———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCert.

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

13 grads$50k 1 yr$60k 5 yr— debt

13$50,290$60,140—

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 Kishwaukee College

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

Kankakee Community College

Public

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Students: 1,985
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 21%
Earnings: $39k

Prairie State College

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Students: 2,443
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 28%
Earnings: $37k

Richland Community College

Public

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Students: 1,346
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $39k

Morton College

Public

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Students: 2,640
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 17%
Earnings: $42k

Kaskaskia College

Public

Centralia, Illinois · Fringe rural · 55 mi to St. Louis

Students: 1,920
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 16%
Earnings: $39k

Lewis and Clark Community College

Public

Godfrey, Illinois · Small suburb · 22 mi to St. Louis

Students: 2,487
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $38k

Colleges near Kishwaukee College

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Debutantes School of Cosmetology and Nail Technology

Dekalb, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 99 students

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Hair Professionals Career College

Sycamore, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 55 students

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Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career College

Rockford, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 682 students

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Educators of Beauty College of Cosmetology-Rockford

Rockford, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 97 students

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Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Rockford

Rockford, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 170 students

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Rasmussen University-Illinois

Rockford, IL · Private for-profit · Associate · 1,145 students

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Waubonsee Community College

Sugar Grove, IL · Public · Associate · 5,721 students

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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.