Public · Community college

Lake Superior College

Duluth, Minnesota · Small city

14%
Transfer rate: $15,492
Avg net price: 42%
Grad / completion: $46,449
Median earnings

Lake Superior College is a public associate-granting institution in Duluth, Minnesota (small city setting), enrolling 2,471 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,471 undergradsSmall cityCold wintersSnowy

About Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County. For both the Ojibwe and the Dakota, interaction with Europeans during the contact period revolved around the fur trade and related activities. Duluth hosts a variety of museums and cultural institutions. It is the starting point of the North Shore of Lake Superior scenic route that runs from Duluth, at the southwestern end of the lake, to Thunder Bay and Nipigon in the north and Sault Ste. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Small city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 2 miles to Duluth, MN
To Great Lakes shore: 2 miles
Nearest airport: 5 miles to Duluth (DLH)

How Lake Superior College compares

Graduation rate42%

Higher than 28% · #26 of 42 in Minnesota

First-year retention61%

Higher than 25%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$46,449

Higher than 86% · #13 of 40 in Minnesota

Average net price$15,492

Cheaper than 49% · #29 cheapest of 43 in Minnesota

Median debt at graduation$12,775

Lower than 24%

Student–faculty ratio19 : 1

Lower than 35%

Undergraduate enrollment2,471

Larger than 84%

Percentiles compare Lake Superior 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 Minnesota.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1,32254%
Men1,14946%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White81%
Black3.1%
Hispanic5.3%
Asian1.1%
Other or multiracial9.6%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 2,471
Student–faculty ratio: 19 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 19%
First-generation students: 28%
Students over 25: 21%
Median family income: $31,563
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $82,269
Endowment: $2,463,000

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

Cost

In-state tuition: $5,785
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,500
Total cost of attendance: $19,723
Average net price: $15,492

Outcomes

Graduated: 42%
First-year retention: 61%
Transferred to another college: 14%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $40,681
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $46,449
Median debt at graduation: $12,775
Students with federal loans: 21%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 42%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

42%

Low-income (Pell)

29%

First-generation

28%

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: 0.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 1
Property offenses (2022–2024): 2

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.0reported offenses a year

0.3 violent a year0.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

0.7

Fondling

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

$12,326

$30–48k

$12,640

$48–75k

$14,792

$75–110k

$17,372

$110k+

$19,519

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.

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,722

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 1% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,722. 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 375 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): $46,449
Typical debt at graduation: $12,775
Debt vs. one year's pay: 28%
Out-earn a HS grad: 58%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 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

$41,512

Men

$54,205

Men out-earn women by $12,693 (31%) 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: 75°F
Winter low: 4°F
Annual rain: 31.2″
Annual snow: 90.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Duluth Harbor Stn, MN US station (2.8 mi from campus).

What Lake Superior College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

256 grads$34k 1 yr$46k 5 yr$13k debt

256$33,525$46,075$13,000 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

106 grads$65k 1 yr$65k 5 yr$28k debt

106$64,846$65,208$27,655 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

57 grads$47k 1 yr$50k 5 yr$12k debt

57$47,190$49,840$11,969 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

48 grads$53k 1 yr$60k 5 yr$20k debt

48$53,192$60,083$19,750 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

39 grads$34k 1 yr$48k 5 yr$12k debt

39$33,889$48,332$12,000 CarpentersCert.

35 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

35———Precision Metal WorkingCert.

31 grads$44k 1 yr$60k 5 yr$13k debt

31$43,610$59,897$13,350 Fire ProtectionCert.

30 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

30———Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssoc.

28 grads$43k 1 yr$45k 5 yr$27k debt

28$43,188$45,149$26,611 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied ProfessionsCert.

22 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

22———Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsAssoc.

20 grads$51k 1 yr$52k 5 yr$20k debt

20$50,993$52,053$20,250 Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

19 grads— 1 yr$80k 5 yr— debt

19—$80,317—

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 Lake Superior College

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

Rochester Community and Technical College

Public

Rochester, Minnesota · Midsize city · 78 mi to Minneapolis

Students: 3,365
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 21%
Earnings: $45k

Minnesota State Community and Technical College

Public

Fergus Falls, Minnesota · Fringe rural · 52 mi to Fargo

Students: 2,942
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 47%
Earnings: $46k

Anoka Technical College

Public

Anoka, Minnesota · Large suburb · 18 mi to Minneapolis

Students: 1,684
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $48k

Northland Community and Technical College

Public

Thief River Falls, Minnesota · Remote town · 91 mi to Fargo

Students: 1,554
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $44k

Anoka-Ramsey Community College

Public

Coon Rapids, Minnesota · Large suburb · 14 mi to Minneapolis

Students: 4,201
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 36%
Earnings: $48k

Alexandria Technical & Community College

Public

Alexandria, Minnesota · Remote town · 97 mi to Fargo

Students: 1,533
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $49k

Colleges near Lake Superior College

The College of Saint Scholastica

Duluth, MN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,765 students

3 mi

University of Minnesota-Duluth

Duluth, MN · Public · Bachelor's · 7,336 students

4 mi

University of Wisconsin-Superior

Superior, WI · Public · Bachelor's · 1,807 students

5 mi

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College

Cloquet, MN · Public · Associate · 557 students

16 mi

Minnesota North College

Hibbing, MN · Public · Associate · 2,013 students

57 mi

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University

Hayward, WI · Public · Associate · 176 students

69 mi

Pine Technical & Community College

Pine City, MN · Public · Certificate · 574 students

77 mi

Northwood Technical College

Rice Lake, WI · Public · Certificate · 2,149 students

92 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.