Public · Community college

Nicolet Area Technical College

Rhinelander, Wisconsin · Fringe rural

#1 best value in Wisconsin

16%
Transfer rate: $8,255
Avg net price: 44%
Grad / completion: $38,643
Median earnings

Nicolet Area Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Rhinelander, Wisconsin (fringe rural setting), enrolling 663 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 663 undergradsFringe ruralCold wintersSnowy

About Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Rhinelander is a city in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Around 1870, Anderson W. Brown of Stevens Point and Anson P. Vaughn traveled up the Wisconsin River to cruise timber for Brown's father, E. D. Brown. Rhinelander is the home of the hodag, a folkloric green and white creature said to stalk the local woods. The hodag serves as mascot for the city and for Rhinelander High School and Northwoods Community Secondary School. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Fringe rural
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 102 miles to Green Bay, WI
To Great Lakes shore: 80 miles
Nearest airport: 3 miles to Rhinelander Oneida County (RHI)

How Nicolet Area Technical College compares

Graduation rate44%

Higher than 30% · #30 of 40 in Wisconsin

First-year retention62%

Higher than 26%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,643

Higher than 63% · #18 of 40 in Wisconsin

Average net price$8,255

Cheaper than 78% · #1 cheapest of 38 in Wisconsin

Median debt at graduation$7,837

Lower than 77%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 86%

Undergraduate enrollment663

Larger than 67%

Percentiles compare Nicolet Area Technical 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 Wisconsin.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women38558%
Men27842%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White73%
Black1.1%
Hispanic6.3%
Asian0.9%
Other or multiracial18%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 663
Student–faculty ratio: 9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 32%
First-generation students: 47%
Students over 25: 32%
Median family income: $24,803
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $60,957

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 166 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Wisconsin97%
Other U.S. states3.0%

Most first-years stay in state — Nicolet Area Technical College draws overwhelmingly from Wisconsin.

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: $4,793
Out-of-state tuition: $7,066
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,466
Total cost of attendance: $14,072
Average net price: $8,255

Outcomes

Graduated: 44%
First-year retention: 62%
Transferred to another college: 16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $36,066
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $38,643
Median debt at graduation: $7,837
Students with federal loans: 18%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 43%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

44%

Low-income (Pell)

46%

First-generation

45%

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

$6,066

$30–48k

$5,410

$48–75k

$10,060

$75–110k

$13,297

$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.

13%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$559

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 13% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $559. 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 60 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): $38,643
Typical debt at graduation: $7,837
Debt vs. one year's pay: 20%
Out-earn a HS grad: 42%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.0 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

$36,544

Men

$44,869

Men out-earn women by $8,325 (23%) 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: 78°F
Winter low: 0°F
Annual rain: 34.4″
Annual snow: 62.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Rhinelander, WI US station (1.5 mi from campus).

What Nicolet Area Technical College graduates study — and earn

Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

109 grads$21k 1 yr$41k 5 yr$9k debt

109$20,526$41,498$9,114 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

70 grads— 1 yr$45k 5 yr$8k debt

70—$45,077$8,250 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

26 grads$65k 1 yr$66k 5 yr$17k debt

26$65,071$66,413$16,837 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesCert.

21 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

21———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCert.

21 grads$54k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

21$53,660——Precision Metal WorkingCert.

18 grads— 1 yr$36k 5 yr— debt

18—$36,232—Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

15 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

15———Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Accounting and Related ServicesCert.

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.

11 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

11———Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsAssoc.

10 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

10———Culinary Arts and Related ServicesAssoc.

7 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

7———

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 Nicolet Area Technical College

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

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College

Public

Fennimore, Wisconsin · Remote rural · 63 mi to Madison

Students: 1,313
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 3%
Earnings: $43k

Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson

Public

Jackson, Tennessee · Fringe rural · 71 mi to Memphis

Students: 563
Tuition: —
Transfer: 2%
Earnings: $38k

Northwood Technical College

Public

Rice Lake, Wisconsin · Remote town · 82 mi to Minneapolis

Students: 2,149
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 7%
Earnings: $43k

Frank Phillips College

Public

Borger, Texas · Distant town · 38 mi to Amarillo

Students: 623
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $37k

Glen Oaks Community College

Public

Centreville, Michigan · Distant rural · 28 mi to Kalamazoo

Students: 600
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 19%
Earnings: $38k

Morgan Community College

Public

Fort Morgan, Colorado · Fringe rural · 74 mi to Denver

Students: 634
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 16%
Earnings: $39k

Colleges near Nicolet Area Technical College

Northcentral Technical College

Wausau, WI · Public · Certificate · 3,257 students

44 mi

State College of Beauty Culture

Wausau, WI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 57 students

47 mi

College of Menominee Nation

Keshena, WI · Private nonprofit · Associate · 258 students

65 mi

Gogebic Community College

Ironwood, MI · Public · Associate · 511 students

69 mi

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Stevens Point, WI · Public · Bachelor's · 7,306 students

75 mi

Mid-State Technical College

Wisconsin Rapids, WI · Public · Certificate · 2,288 students

86 mi

Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College

LAnse, MI · Public · Associate · 139 students

92 mi

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University

Hayward, WI · Public · Associate · 176 students

96 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.