Public · Community college

Northcentral Technical College

Wausau, Wisconsin · Small city

7%
Transfer rate
$10,303
Avg net price
45%
Grad / completion
$44,925
Median earnings

Northcentral Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Wausau, Wisconsin (small city setting), enrolling 3,257 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 3,257 undergradsSmall cityOtherCold wintersSnowy

About Wausau, Wisconsin

Wausau is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The Ojibwe (also known in the United States as the Chippewa) occupied it in the period of European encounter. They had a lucrative fur trade for decades with French colonists and French Canadians. Entertainment available in the city includes Exhibitour, Concerts on the Square, Market Place Thursdays, Screen on the Green, and the Hmong New Year. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Associate
To Great Lakes shore
83 miles
Nearest airport
14 miles to Central Wisconsin (CWA)

How Northcentral Technical College compares

Graduation rate45%

Higher than 32% · #27 of 40 in Wisconsin

First-year retention59%

Higher than 22%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$44,925

Higher than 83% · #7 of 40 in Wisconsin

Average net price$10,303

Cheaper than 69% · #10 cheapest of 38 in Wisconsin

Median debt at graduation$7,500

Lower than 80%

Student–faculty ratio18 : 1

Lower than 39%

Undergraduate enrollment3,257

Larger than 87%

Percentiles compare Northcentral 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

3,257undergrads
  • Women1,97961%
  • Men1,27839%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White74%
  • Black1.8%
  • Hispanic5.1%
  • Asian6.0%
  • Other or multiracial13%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
3,257
Student–faculty ratio
18 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
19%
First-generation students
48%
Students over 25
27%
Median family income
$28,075
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$81,468

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 589 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Wisconsin95%
  • Other U.S. states4.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Northcentral 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
$4,889
Out-of-state tuition
$7,132
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,465
Total cost of attendance
$15,768
Average net price
$10,303

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
45%
First-year retention
59%
Transferred to another college
7%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$38,984
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$44,925
Median debt at graduation
$7,500
Students with federal loans
14%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
43%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
45%
Low-income (Pell)
33%
First-generation
35%

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
Athletics
Other
Varsity athletes
28 (27 men · 1 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 (1)

Other Sports28

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
3
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 8 campuses (6,746 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.

1.0reported offenses a year
1.0 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Aggravated assault
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
$10,216
$30–48k
$14,243
$48–75k
$8,470
$75–110k
$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.

26%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,389
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 26% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,389. 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 180 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)
$44,925
Typical debt at graduation
$7,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
17%
Out-earn a HS grad
55%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.7 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
$40,562
Men
$49,791

Men out-earn women by $9,229 (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
80°F
Winter low
7°F
Annual rain
33.9″
Annual snow
64.3″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Wausau Dwtn AP, WI US station (4.3 mi from campus).

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 Northcentral Technical College

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

Colleges near Northcentral Technical College

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.