Public · Community college

Sauk Valley Community College

Dixon, Illinois · Fringe rural

17%
Transfer rate: $8,493
Avg net price: 49%
Grad / completion: $40,458
Median earnings

Sauk Valley Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Dixon, Illinois (fringe rural setting), enrolling 1,158 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,158 undergradsFringe ruralNJCAA Division ICold wintersSnowy

About Dixon, Illinois

Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. In 1829, an employee of Ogee was named postmaster at the newly constructed post office. John Dixon, the eponymous founder, bought Ogee's Ferry in the spring of 1830 and brought his family to his newly purchased establishment on April 11 of that year. Dixon also has a performing arts theater called Dixon Stage Left, and a musician and visual arts co-op called Rosbrook Studio. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Fringe rural
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 41 miles to Rockford, IL
To Great Lakes shore: 96 miles
Nearest airport: 37 miles to Chicago Rockford (RFD)

How Sauk Valley Community College compares

Graduation rate49%

Higher than 36% · #79 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention74%

Higher than 52%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,458

Higher than 70% · #28 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$8,493

Cheaper than 77% · #39 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$8,250

Lower than 71%

Student–faculty ratio14 : 1

Lower than 62%

Undergraduate enrollment1,158

Larger than 74%

Percentiles compare Sauk Valley 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 Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women68459%
Men47441%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White73%
Black2.9%
Hispanic18%
Asian0.9%
Other or multiracial4.7%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,158
Student–faculty ratio: 14 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 33%
First-generation students: 48%
Students over 25: 21%
Median family income: $25,381
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $68,958
Endowment: $10,280,486

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 361 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Illinois97%
Other U.S. states2.5%

Most first-years stay in state — Sauk Valley Community College draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

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: $5,340
Out-of-state tuition: $12,900
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,470
Total cost of attendance: $15,273
Average net price: $8,493

Outcomes

Graduated: 49%
First-year retention: 74%
Transferred to another college: 17%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $35,185
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $40,458
Median debt at graduation: $8,250
Students with federal loans: 7%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 53%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

49%

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
Athletics: NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes: 166 (107 men · 59 women)

Varsity sports (9)

Baseball35

Basketball24

Track and Field (Outdoor)24

Track and Field (Indoor)23

Tennis14

Cross Country14

Volleyball12

Softball11

Golf9

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

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

$5,027

$30–48k

$7,182

$48–75k

$8,884

$75–110k

$12,524

$110k+

$14,155

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.

33%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,922

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 33% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,922. 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 270 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): $40,458
Typical debt at graduation: $8,250
Debt vs. one year's pay: 20%
Out-earn a HS grad: 44%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.0 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

$35,911

Men

$49,549

Men out-earn women by $13,638 (38%) 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: 83°F
Winter low: 14°F
Annual rain: 40.5″
Annual snow: 31.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Dixon 1W, IL US station (4.4 mi from campus).

What Sauk Valley Community College graduates study — and earn

Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

137 grads$36k 1 yr$31k 5 yr$16k debt

137$36,277$30,951$15,742 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

122 grads— 1 yr$39k 5 yr— debt

122—$38,878—Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

117 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

117———Precision Metal WorkingCert.

65 grads— 1 yr$53k 5 yr— debt

65—$53,483—Ground TransportationCert.

36 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

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

29 grads$62k 1 yr$65k 5 yr$14k debt

29$62,129$64,599$14,379 Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

21 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

21———Biological and Physical SciencesAssoc.

20 grads— 1 yr$47k 5 yr— debt

20—$47,061—Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

18 grads$48k 1 yr— 5 yr$8k debt

18$48,160—$8,312 Accounting and Related ServicesCert.

13 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

13———Design and Applied ArtsCert.

11 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

11———Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

8 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

8———

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 Sauk Valley Community College

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

John Wood Community College

Public

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Students: 1,371
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 17%
Earnings: $39k

Illinois Eastern Community Colleges

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Students: 1,634
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Transfer: 16%
Earnings: $38k

Rend Lake College

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Students: 1,175
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $36k

Kaskaskia College

Public

Centralia, Illinois · Fringe rural · 55 mi to St. Louis

Students: 1,920
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 16%
Earnings: $39k

Highland Community College

Public

Freeport, Illinois · Fringe rural · 30 mi to Rockford

Students: 931
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 19%
Earnings: $38k

Black Hawk College

Public

Moline, Illinois · Small city · 70 mi to Peoria

Students: 2,354
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 19%
Earnings: $37k

Colleges near Sauk Valley Community College

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Morrison, IL · Private nonprofit · Associate · 59 students

19 mi

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32 mi

Kishwaukee College

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38 mi

Educators of Beauty College of Cosmetology-Peru

PERU, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 52 students

40 mi

Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career College

Rockford, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 682 students

42 mi

Rockford University

Rockford, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 972 students

43 mi

Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Rockford

Rockford, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 170 students

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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.