Public · Community college

North Country Community College

Saranac Lake, New York · Remote town

21%
Transfer rate: $11,868
Avg net price: 29%
Grad / completion: $38,276
Median earnings

North Country Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Saranac Lake, New York (remote town setting), enrolling 819 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 819 undergradsRemote townNJCAA Division IIICold wintersSnowy

About Saranac Lake, New York

Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. The Jacob Smith Moody family from Keene, New Hampshire, was the first to settle here. In 1827, settlers Pliny Miller and Alric Bushnell established a logging facility with a dam and sawmill, around which the village developed. The first school was built in 1838. Much of the village fronts on Lake Flower, which was created by a dam in the Saranac River and named after Governor Roswell P. Flower. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Remote town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 46 miles to Burlington, VT
To the ocean: 54 miles
Nearest airport: 6 miles to Adirondack (SLK)

How North Country Community College compares

Graduation rate29%

Higher than 11% · #155 of 185 in New York

First-year retention51%

Higher than 12%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,276

Higher than 61% · #102 of 148 in New York

Average net price$11,868

Cheaper than 63% · #49 cheapest of 175 in New York

Median debt at graduation$12,000

Lower than 29%

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 73%

Undergraduate enrollment819

Larger than 70%

Percentiles compare North Country 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 New York.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women47958%
Men34042%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White73%
Black5.6%
Hispanic1.5%
Other or multiracial20%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 819
Student–faculty ratio: 12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 39%
First-generation students: 47%
Students over 25: 23%
Median family income: $23,595
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $60,417

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 327 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From New York91%
Other U.S. states8.0%
International0.9%

Most first-years stay in state — North Country Community College draws overwhelmingly from New York.

1% 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.

Cost

In-state tuition: $6,682
Out-of-state tuition: $9,370
Room & board: $8,796
Books & supplies: $2,400
Total cost of attendance: $18,051
Average net price: $11,868

Outcomes

Graduated: 29%
First-year retention: 51%
Transferred to another college: 21%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $38,937
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $38,276
Median debt at graduation: $12,000
Students with federal loans: 20%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 44%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: Yes
Dorm capacity: 98
Dorm capacity vs undergrads: 12%
Housing charge (year): $4,796
Meal plan (year): $4,000
Application fee: Free
Athletics: NJCAA Division III
Varsity athletes: 75 (41 men · 34 women)

Varsity sports (2)

Soccer43

Basketball32

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

$8,329

$30–48k

$13,216

$48–75k

$14,387

$75–110k

$16,668

$110k+

$16,928

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.

37%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,396

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 37% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,396. 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 254 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): $38,276
Typical debt at graduation: $12,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 31%
Out-earn a HS grad: 48%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.1 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

$36,319

Men

$41,495

Men out-earn women by $5,176 (14%) 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: 74°F
Winter low: 5°F
Annual rain: 36.6″
Annual snow: 104.1″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Ray Brook, NY US station (1.8 mi from campus).

What North Country Community College graduates study — and earn

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

50 grads$69k 1 yr— 5 yr$28k debt

50$69,472—$27,721 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

44 grads$46k 1 yr— 5 yr$16k debt

44$45,808—$16,000 Entrepreneurial and Small Business OperationsAssoc.

26 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

25 grads$24k 1 yr— 5 yr$12k debt

25$24,113—$12,000 Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

12 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

10 grads$54k 1 yr— 5 yr$21k debt

10$54,327—$20,750 Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, GeneralAssoc.

7 grads$50k 1 yr— 5 yr$17k debt

7$50,293—$17,110 Criminal Justice and CorrectionsAssoc.

4 grads$31k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

4$31,175——Human Services, GeneralAssoc.

4 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

4 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

4———Somatic Bodywork and Related Therapeutic ServicesAssoc.

3 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

3———Hospitality Administration/ManagementAssoc.

3 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

3———

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 North Country Community College

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

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Earnings: $40k

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Jamestown Community College

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Students: 1,739
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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.