Public · Community college

Northwest Technical College

Bemidji, Minnesota · Remote town

13%
Transfer rate: $10,996
Avg net price: 50%
Grad / completion: $42,930
Median earnings

Northwest Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Bemidji, Minnesota (remote town setting), enrolling 751 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 751 undergradsRemote townCold wintersSnowy

About Bemidji, Minnesota

Bemidji is a city in and the county seat of Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Bemidji Township was surveyed by European Americans in 1874. In 1897, the county attorney declared the original Bemidji township organization illegal (no reason given) and the township reorganized on June 26, 1897. The Concordia Language Villages are near Bemidji. They have supported several language conversational groups (including French, Chinese, Norwegian, Spanish, Italian, and German) that meet weekly in local coffeehouses. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Remote town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 99 miles to Fargo, ND
To Great Lakes shore: 137 miles
Nearest airport: 75 miles to Thief River Falls (TVF)

How Northwest Technical College compares

Graduation rate50%

Higher than 37% · #20 of 42 in Minnesota

First-year retention74%

Higher than 52%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,930

Higher than 79% · #25 of 40 in Minnesota

Average net price$10,996

Cheaper than 66% · #12 cheapest of 43 in Minnesota

Median debt at graduation$15,000

Lower than 14%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment751

Larger than 69%

Percentiles compare Northwest 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 Minnesota.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women51769%
Men23431%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White59%
Black17%
Hispanic4.4%
Asian1.5%
Other or multiracial19%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 751
Student–faculty ratio: 16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 32%
First-generation students: 27%
Students over 25: 46%
Median family income: $32,000
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $80,928

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition: $6,254
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,600
Total cost of attendance: $16,905
Average net price: $10,996

Outcomes

Graduated: 50%
First-year retention: 74%
Transferred to another college: 13%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $41,389
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $42,930
Median debt at graduation: $15,000
Students with federal loans: 33%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 46%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

50%

Low-income (Pell)

33%

First-generation

33%

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

$6,638

$30–48k

$7,948

$48–75k

$10,641

$75–110k

$13,654

$110k+

$16,137

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.

19%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,769

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 19% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,769. 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 70 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): $42,930
Typical debt at graduation: $15,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 35%
Out-earn a HS grad: 53%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.5 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

$39,163

Men

$48,837

Men out-earn women by $9,674 (25%) 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: 79°F
Winter low: -4°F
Annual rain: 26.5″
Annual snow: 48.9″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Cass Lake, MN US station (12.1 mi from campus).

What Northwest Technical College graduates study — and earn

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

70 grads$73k 1 yr$70k 5 yr$31k debt

70$72,778$70,308$31,053 Health and Medical Administrative ServicesCert.

24 grads$26k 1 yr$46k 5 yr— debt

24$25,980$46,003—Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

19 grads$44k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

19$43,720——Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersAssoc.

19 grads$45k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

19$44,727——Plumbing and Related Water Supply ServicesCert.

17 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

17———Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsCert.

17 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

17———Health and Medical Administrative ServicesAssoc.

11 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

11 grads$41k 1 yr$44k 5 yr— debt

11$41,497$44,377—Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)Cert.

7 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

7———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

6 grads— 1 yr$56k 5 yr— debt

6—$55,900—Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsCert.

5 grads$36k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

5$36,203——Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssoc.

5 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

5———

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 Northwest Technical College

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

Pine Technical & Community College

Public

Pine City, Minnesota · Remote rural · 60 mi to Minneapolis

Students: 574
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 14%
Earnings: $41k

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College

Public

Cloquet, Minnesota · Fringe town · 18 mi to Duluth

Students: 557
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 23%
Earnings: $46k

Northland Community and Technical College

Public

Thief River Falls, Minnesota · Remote town · 91 mi to Fargo

Students: 1,554
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $44k

Central Lakes College-Brainerd

Public

Brainerd, Minnesota · Remote town · 105 mi to Duluth

Students: 1,614
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $42k

Minnesota West Community and Technical College

Public

Granite Falls, Minnesota · Remote rural · 105 mi to Sioux Falls

Students: 1,762
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $45k

Minnesota State College Southeast

Public

Winona, Minnesota · Distant town · 105 mi to Minneapolis

Students: 1,388
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $44k

Colleges near Northwest Technical College

Bemidji State University

Bemidji, MN · Public · Bachelor's · 3,139 students

2 mi

Oak Hills Christian College

Bemidji, MN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 75 students

3 mi

Leech Lake Tribal College

Cass Lake, MN · Public · Associate · 197 students

10 mi

Red Lake Nation College

Red Lake, MN · Public · Associate · 332 students

30 mi

White Earth Tribal and Community College

Mahnomen, MN · Private nonprofit · Associate · 110 students

52 mi

Northland Community and Technical College

Thief River Falls, MN · Public · Associate · 1,554 students

76 mi

Central Lakes College-Brainerd

Brainerd, MN · Public · Associate · 1,614 students

82 mi

University of Minnesota-Crookston

Crookston, MN · Public · Bachelor's · 1,729 students

85 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.