Public · Community college

Owensboro Community and Technical College

Owensboro, Kentucky · Fringe rural

6%
Transfer rate: $5,800
Avg net price: 54%
Grad / completion: $35,798
Median earnings

Owensboro Community and Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Owensboro, Kentucky (fringe rural setting), enrolling 2,648 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,648 undergradsFringe ruralCold winters

About Owensboro, Kentucky

Owensboro is a city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. Following a series of failed uprisings with British support, however, the last Shawnee were forced to vacate the area before the end of the 18th century. Owensboro was named an All-America City in 2013. Owensboro placed fourth on Area Development's Top 20 Southern Cities, with a 9th-place ranking for its "recession busting factors" among the Top 25 Small Cities. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Fringe rural
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 32 miles to Evansville, IN
To Great Lakes shore: 270 miles
Nearest airport: 5 miles to Owensboro Daviess County (OWB)

How Owensboro Community and Technical College compares

Graduation rate54%

Higher than 41% · #26 of 46 in Kentucky

First-year retention69%

Higher than 42%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$35,798

Higher than 52% · #10 of 40 in Kentucky

Average net price$5,800

Cheaper than 88% · #14 cheapest of 50 in Kentucky

Median debt at graduation$7,933

Lower than 74%

Student–faculty ratio21 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment2,648

Larger than 85%

Percentiles compare Owensboro Community and 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 Kentucky.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1,48556%
Men1,16344%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White79%
Black6.1%
Hispanic5.8%
Asian2.7%
Other or multiracial6.8%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 2,648
Student–faculty ratio: 21 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 31%
First-generation students: 50%
Students over 25: 23%
Median family income: $23,689
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $49,878

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 676 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Kentucky96%
Other U.S. states4.1%

Most first-years stay in state — Owensboro Community and Technical College draws overwhelmingly from Kentucky.

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: $4,728
Out-of-state tuition: $6,432
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,268
Total cost of attendance: $13,476
Average net price: $5,800

Outcomes

Graduated: 54%
First-year retention: 69%
Transferred to another college: 6%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $31,283
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $35,798
Median debt at graduation: $7,933
Students with federal loans: 9%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 29%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

54%

Low-income (Pell)

27%

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

$4,554

$30–48k

$4,572

$48–75k

$6,666

$75–110k

$8,164

$110k+

$11,458

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.

23%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,045

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 23% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,045. 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 483 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): $35,798
Typical debt at graduation: $7,933
Debt vs. one year's pay: 22%
Out-earn a HS grad: 42%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.2 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

$31,149

Men

$45,593

Men out-earn women by $14,444 (46%) 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: 87°F
Winter low: 26°F
Annual rain: 45.6″
Annual snow: 4.3″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Calhoun Lock 2, KY US station (16.3 mi from campus).

What Owensboro Community and Technical College graduates study — and earn

Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

725 grads$49k 1 yr— 5 yr$8k debt

725$49,137—$8,319 Precision Metal WorkingCert.

472 grads$45k 1 yr— 5 yr$7k debt

472$45,366—$7,475 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

383 grads$26k 1 yr$38k 5 yr$9k debt

383$26,002$37,879$9,386 Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/TechniciansCert.

333 grads$56k 1 yr— 5 yr$8k debt

333$56,300—$8,200 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

321 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

321———Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

225 grads$35k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

225$35,174——Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

215 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

146 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

146———Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

123 grads$41k 1 yr— 5 yr$7k debt

123$41,251—$7,246 Ground TransportationCert.

73 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

73———Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersAssoc.

59 grads$56k 1 yr$77k 5 yr$7k debt

59$55,533$76,975$7,338 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

58 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

58———

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 Owensboro Community and Technical College

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

Gateway Community and Technical College

Public

Florence, Kentucky · Large suburb · 12 mi to Cincinnati

Students: 3,167
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $36k

West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Public

Paducah, Kentucky · Small city · 87 mi to Evansville

Students: 2,851
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $35k

Madisonville Community College

Public

Madisonville, Kentucky · Distant town · 42 mi to Evansville

Students: 1,841
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $36k

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

Public

Elizabethtown, Kentucky · Small city · 39 mi to Louisville

Students: 4,088
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $36k

Hopkinsville Community College

Public

Hopkinsville, Kentucky · Distant town · 63 mi to Nashville

Students: 1,630
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 10%
Earnings: $36k

Ashland Community and Technical College

Public

Ashland, Kentucky · Small city · 56 mi to Charleston

Students: 1,631
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 7%
Earnings: $35k

Colleges near Owensboro Community and Technical College

Ross Medical Education Center-Owensboro

Owensboro, KY · Private for-profit · Certificate · 38 students

2 mi

Kentucky Wesleyan College

Owensboro, KY · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 842 students

3 mi

Brescia University

Owensboro, KY · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 545 students

4 mi

Ross Medical Education Center-Evansville

Evansville, IN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 91 students

29 mi

The Salon Professional Academy-Evansville

Evansville, IN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 162 students

29 mi

University of Evansville

Evansville, IN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,539 students

30 mi

Henderson Community College

Henderson, KY · Public · Certificate · 880 students

31 mi

Rogers Academy of Hair Design

Evansville, IN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 72 students

32 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.