Public · Community college
Pearl River Community College
Poplarville, Mississippi · Remote rural
- 16%
- Transfer rate
- $6,532
- Avg net price
- 37%
- Grad / completion
- $33,019
- Median earnings
Pearl River Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Poplarville, Mississippi (remote rural setting), enrolling 4,903 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Poplarville, Mississippi
Poplarville is a city and the county seat of Pearl River County, Mississippi, United States. Four lynchings have been committed in Poplarville since the Civil War. The most recent occurred in 1959 when Mack Charles Parker, an African-American accused of rape, was abducted from the Pearl River County jail in Poplarville by a mob and shot to death. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Remote rural
- Highest degree offered
- Associate
- Nearest big city
- 69 miles to New Orleans, LA
- To the ocean
- 35 miles
- Nearest airport
- 41 miles to Gulfport Biloxi (GPT)
How Pearl River Community College compares
Higher than 23% · #29 of 33 in Mississippi
Higher than 33%
Higher than 42% · #7 of 28 in Mississippi
Cheaper than 84% · #12 cheapest of 34 in Mississippi
Lower than 50%
Lower than 9%
Larger than 91%
Percentiles compare Pearl River 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 Mississippi.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women2,86358%
- Men2,04042%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White58%
- Black34%
- Hispanic0.7%
- Asian0.7%
- Other or multiracial7.3%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 4,903
- Student–faculty ratio
- 26 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 52%
- First-generation students
- 42%
- Students over 25
- 21%
- Median family income
- $18,704
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $62,415
- Endowment
- $8,006
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 889 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Mississippi91%
- Other U.S. states8.4%
- International0.8%
Most first-years stay in state — Pearl River Community College draws overwhelmingly from Mississippi.
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
- $3,700
- Out-of-state tuition
- $6,100
- Room & board
- $5,702
- Books & supplies
- $1,350
- Total cost of attendance
- $14,832
- Average net price
- $6,532
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
- 37%
- First-year retention
- 65%
- Transferred to another college
- 16%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $28,592
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $33,019
- Median debt at graduation
- $9,750
- Students with federal loans
- 28%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 44%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 1,019
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 21%
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- NJCAA Division I
- Varsity athletes
- 238 (160 men · 78 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 (8)
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)
- 1
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (6,011 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
Modest institutional aid: 52% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,423. 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 789 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)
- $33,019
- Typical debt at graduation
- $9,750
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 30%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 38%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.0 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $11,834 (41%) 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
- 91°F
- Winter low
- 39°F
- Annual rain
- 65″
- Annual snow
- 0.3″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Poplarville Exp Stn, MS US station (0.3 mi from campus).
What Pearl River Community College graduates study — and earn
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 Pearl River Community College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Pearl River Community College side by side →
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Perkinston, Mississippi · Distant rural · 66 mi to Mobile
- Students
- 6,353
- Tuition
- $4k
- Transfer
- 11%
- Earnings
- $33k
Holmes Community College
Goodman, Mississippi · Remote rural · 49 mi to Jackson
- Students
- 3,958
- Tuition
- $4k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $33k
Jones County Junior College
Ellisville, Mississippi · Distant town · 75 mi to Jackson
- Students
- 3,535
- Tuition
- $5k
- Transfer
- 15%
- Earnings
- $33k
Itawamba Community College
Fulton, Mississippi · Remote rural · 106 mi to Birmingham
- Students
- 4,167
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 16%
- Earnings
- $33k
Northwest Mississippi Community College
Senatobia, Mississippi · Distant town · 36 mi to Memphis
- Students
- 5,452
- Tuition
- $4k
- Transfer
- 15%
- Earnings
- $36k
Northeast Mississippi Community College
Booneville, Mississippi · Remote town · 91 mi to Memphis
- Students
- 2,698
- Tuition
- $4k
- Transfer
- 26%
- Earnings
- $34k
Colleges near Pearl River Community College
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Perkinston, MS · Public · Associate · 6,353 students
The Academy of Hair Design Six
Hattiesburg, MS · Private for-profit · Certificate · 37 students
William Carey University
Hattiesburg, MS · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,201 students
University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS · Public · Bachelor's · 10,075 students
Unlimited Cosmetology School
Hattiesburg, MS · Private for-profit · Certificate · 29 students
Northshore Technical Community College
Lacombe, LA · Public · Certificate · 2,505 students
Saint Joseph Seminary College
St. Benedict, LA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 93 students
Blue Cliff College-Gulfport
Gulfport, MS · Private for-profit · Certificate · 200 students
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.