Public · Community college

Mountain Empire Community College

Big Stone Gap, Virginia · Distant town

5%
Transfer rate: $8,852
Avg net price: 48%
Grad / completion: $32,622
Median earnings

Mountain Empire Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Big Stone Gap, Virginia (distant town setting), enrolling 1,282 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,282 undergradsDistant townCold winters

About Big Stone Gap, Virginia

Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The community was formerly known as "Mineral City" and "Three Forks" before officially taking its name in 1888. The "Big Stone Gap" refers to the valley created on the Appalachia Straight, located between the town and Appalachia. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Distant town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 88 miles to Asheville, NC
To the ocean: 304 miles
Nearest airport: 33 miles to Tri-Cities Regional TN/VA (TRI)

How Mountain Empire Community College compares

Graduation rate48%

Higher than 35% · #34 of 65 in Virginia

First-year retention64%

Higher than 32%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$32,622

Higher than 41% · #39 of 62 in Virginia

Average net price$8,852

Cheaper than 75% · #23 cheapest of 61 in Virginia

Student–faculty ratio22 : 1

Lower than 21%

Undergraduate enrollment1,282

Larger than 76%

Percentiles compare Mountain Empire 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 Virginia.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women72256%
Men56044%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White92%
Black2.5%
Hispanic2.3%
Other or multiracial3.0%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,282
Student–faculty ratio: 22 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 43%
First-generation students: 57%
Students over 25: 24%
Median family income: $14,888
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $68,355
Endowment: $34,873,568

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 394 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Virginia100%
Other U.S. states0.5%

Most first-years stay in state — Mountain Empire Community College draws overwhelmingly from Virginia.

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: $5,007
Out-of-state tuition: $11,445
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,780
Total cost of attendance: $15,605
Average net price: $8,852

Outcomes

Graduated: 48%
First-year retention: 64%
Transferred to another college: 5%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $30,368
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $32,622
Median debt at graduation: —
Students with federal loans: 0%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

48%

First-generation

27%

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

$8,148

$30–48k

$8,064

$48–75k

$10,770

$75–110k

$11,741

$110k+

—

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.

42%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,192

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 42% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,192. 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 247 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): $32,622
Typical debt at graduation: —
Debt vs. one year's pay: —
Out-earn a HS grad: 33%

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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

$28,600

Men

$37,905

Men out-earn women by $9,305 (33%) 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: 84°F
Winter low: 24°F
Annual rain: 56″
Annual snow: 9.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Big Stone Gap, VA US station (2.3 mi from campus).

What Mountain Empire Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

126 grads$20k 1 yr$30k 5 yr$9k debt

126$20,005$30,168$9,384 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

108 grads$16k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

108$16,029——Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsCert.

106 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

47 grads$62k 1 yr$64k 5 yr$7k debt

47$62,303$64,330$7,475 Precision Metal WorkingCert.

45 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

45———Construction Trades, GeneralCert.

37 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

37———Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

32 grads$36k 1 yr$39k 5 yr— debt

32$35,693$39,206—Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied ProfessionsCert.

22 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

22———Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCert.

21 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

21———Environmental Control Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

19 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

19———Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

18 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

18———Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

18 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

18———

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 Mountain Empire Community College

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

Danville Community College

Public

Danville, Virginia · Distant town · 40 mi to Greensboro

Students: 1,306
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $32k

Southwest Virginia Community College

Public

Cedar Bluff, Virginia · Distant rural · 93 mi to Charleston

Students: 1,651
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $34k

Virginia Highlands Community College

Public

Abingdon, Virginia · Small suburb · 82 mi to Asheville

Students: 1,349
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $33k

Central Virginia Community College

Public

Lynchburg, Virginia · Small city · 42 mi to Roanoke

Students: 2,249
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $37k

Southside Virginia Community College

Public

Alberta, Virginia · Remote rural · 55 mi to Richmond

Students: 1,807
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $32k

Wytheville Community College

Public

Wytheville, Virginia · Remote town · 66 mi to Roanoke

Students: 1,255
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 8%
Earnings: $34k

Colleges near Mountain Empire Community College

University of Virginia's College at Wise

Wise, VA · Public · Bachelor's · 1,101 students

14 mi

Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College

Cumberland, KY · Public · Certificate · 1,721 students

15 mi

Northeast State Community College

Blountville, TN · Public · Associate · 4,404 students

32 mi

Alice Lloyd College

Pippa Passes, KY · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 558 students

34 mi

Hazard Community and Technical College

Hazard, KY · Public · Certificate · 1,506 students

35 mi

King University

Bristol, TN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 908 students

38 mi

Galen College of Nursing-ARH

Hazard, KY · Private for-profit · Associate · 350 students

39 mi

Ross Medical Education Center-Johnson City

Johnson City, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 87 students

40 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.