Private nonprofit · College
Lees-McRae College
Banner Elk, North Carolina · Distant rural
- 76.8%
- Admit rate
- $28,340
- Avg net price
- 42%
- Graduation rate
- $43,415
- Median earnings
Lees-McRae College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Banner Elk, North Carolina (distant rural setting), enrolling 873 undergraduates. It has a Presbyterian Church (USA) religious affiliation.
About Banner Elk, North Carolina
Banner Elk is a town in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. The first permanent settlement was established by Martin L. Banner in 1848. Although the Banner family originally came from Wales, Martin Banner moved from Forsyth County in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Distant rural
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 55 miles to Asheville, NC
- To the ocean
- 240 miles
- Nearest airport
- 37 miles to Tri-Cities Regional TN/VA (TRI)
How Lees-McRae College compares
More selective than 51% · #32 most selective of 53 in North Carolina
Higher than 26% · #39 of 56 in North Carolina
Higher than 27%
Higher than 21% · #38 of 57 in North Carolina
Cheaper than 20% · #51 cheapest of 57 in North Carolina
Lower than 86%
Lower than 68%
Larger than 34%
Percentiles compare Lees-McRae College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in North Carolina.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate87396%
- Graduate374%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women58267%
- Men29133%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White56%
- Black6.9%
- Hispanic4.7%
- Asian1.5%
- Other or multiracial30%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 873
- Graduate enrollment
- 37
- Student–faculty ratio
- 11 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 37%
- First-generation students
- 40%
- Students over 25
- 13%
- Median family income
- $42,683
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $55,044
- Endowment
- $39,747,164
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 199 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From North Carolina52%
- Other U.S. states44%
- International3.5%
A regional draw: about 52% of first-years come from North Carolina, the rest from elsewhere.
4% came from outside the U.S. 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.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 76.8%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $33,250
- Room & board
- $15,200
- Books & supplies
- $600
- Total cost of attendance
- $49,498
- Average net price
- $28,340
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)
- 42%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 37%
- First-year retention
- 69%
- Transferred to another college
- 41%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $41,599
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $43,415
- Median debt at graduation
- $17,375
- Students with federal loans
- 59%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 50%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- 673
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 77%
- Housing charge (year)
- $6,000
- Meal plan (year)
- $7,730
- Application fee
- $25
- Athletics
- NCAA Division II without football
- Varsity athletes
- 465 (236 men · 229 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 (9)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 6.2 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 16
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 1
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (910 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$25,905/year × about 4.2 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.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 100% — get grant money from Lees-McRae College itself, averaging $16,663, which softens the sticker price.
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 212 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)
- $43,415
- Typical debt at graduation
- $17,375
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 40%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 53%
Typical debt would take roughly 4.0 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $1,579 (4%) 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
- 77°F
- Winter low
- 22°F
- Annual rain
- 53.8″
- Annual snow
- 31.4″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Banner Elk, NC US station (0.1 mi from campus).
What Lees-McRae College graduates study — and earn
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 Lees-McRae College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Lees-McRae College side by side →
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana · Fringe rural · 72 mi to Indianapolis
- Students
- 853
- Admission
- 72%
- Net price
- $32k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
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Colby-Sawyer College
New London, New Hampshire · Remote rural · 39 mi to Manchester
- Students
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- Admission
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- Net price
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- SAT
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- GPA
- —
- Earnings
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Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science
Paul Smiths, New York · Distant rural · 51 mi to Burlington
- Students
- 579
- Admission
- 77%
- Net price
- $27k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
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Hampshire College
Amherst, Massachusetts · Fringe rural · 16 mi to Springfield
- Students
- 839
- Admission
- 75%
- Net price
- $24k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $47k
William Woods University
Fulton, Missouri · Distant town · 22 mi to Columbia
- Students
- 1,300
- Admission
- 71%
- Net price
- $27k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $42k
Webber International University
Babson Park, Florida · Fringe rural · 49 mi to Orlando
- Students
- 813
- Admission
- 69%
- Net price
- $30k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $46k
Colleges near Lees-McRae College
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Sugar Grove, NC · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC · Public · Bachelor's · 19,444 students
Mayland Community College
Spruce Pine, NC · Public · Associate · 362 students
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Elizabethton
Elizabethton, TN · Public · Certificate · 546 students
Milligan University
Milligan, TN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 818 students
TC Beauty
Johnson City, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 100 students
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN · Public · Bachelor's · 10,004 students
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
Hudson, NC · Public · Associate · 2,393 students
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.












