Public · Community college

Roane State Community College

Harriman, Tennessee · Distant town

#3 best value in Tennessee
14%
Transfer rate
$4,270
Avg net price
36%
Grad / completion
$39,407
Median earnings

Roane State Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Harriman, Tennessee (distant town setting), enrolling 3,250 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 3,250 undergradsDistant townNJCAA Division ICold winters

About Harriman, Tennessee

Harriman is a city located primarily in Roane County, Tennessee, United States, with a small extension into Morgan County. Harriman was founded as a Temperance Town in 1889 by temperance movement activists led by New York-born minister and plant manager Frederick Gates. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant town
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
316 miles
Nearest airport
35 miles to McGhee Tyson (TYS) · major hub

How Roane State Community College compares

Graduation rate36%

Higher than 21% · #68 of 81 in Tennessee

First-year retention58%

Higher than 20%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$39,407

Higher than 67% · #15 of 70 in Tennessee

Average net price$4,270

Cheaper than 93% · #3 cheapest of 82 in Tennessee

Median debt at graduation$8,454

Lower than 70%

Student–faculty ratio18 : 1

Lower than 39%

Undergraduate enrollment3,250

Larger than 87%

Percentiles compare Roane State 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 Tennessee.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

3,250undergrads
  • Women2,23469%
  • Men1,01631%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White85%
  • Black2.9%
  • Hispanic5.1%
  • Asian0.9%
  • Other or multiracial6.2%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
3,250
Student–faculty ratio
18 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
28%
First-generation students
50%
Students over 25
21%
Median family income
$23,549
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$64,251
Endowment
$22,222,355

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 1,002 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Tennessee99%
  • Other U.S. states0.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Roane State Community College draws overwhelmingly from Tennessee.

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
$4,998
Out-of-state tuition
$18,630
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,467
Total cost of attendance
$13,397
Average net price
$4,270

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
36%
First-year retention
58%
Transferred to another college
14%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$33,926
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$39,407
Median debt at graduation
$8,454
Students with federal loans
4%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
37%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
36%
Low-income (Pell)
26%
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
Athletics
NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
144 (62 men · 82 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 (7)

Baseball35
Basketball30
Soccer21
Softball21
Volleyball17
Golf13
Cross Country7

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)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 9 campuses (5,002 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.

0.3reported offenses a year
0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
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
$3,444
$30–48k
$3,636
$48–75k
$5,220
$75–110k
$7,594
$110k+
$10,354

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.

15%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,044
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 15% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,044. 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 896 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)
$39,407
Typical debt at graduation
$8,454
Debt vs. one year's pay
21%
Out-earn a HS grad
43%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.1 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
$34,912
Men
$48,384

Men out-earn women by $13,472 (39%) 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
88°F
Winter low
28°F
Annual rain
60.5″
Annual snow
2″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.03.06.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Rockwood 2, TN US station (5.1 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 Roane State Community College

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

Colleges near Roane State Community 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.