Public · Community college

South Piedmont Community College

Polkton, North Carolina · Distant rural

15%
Transfer rate
$6,675
Avg net price
38%
Grad / completion
$37,308
Median earnings

South Piedmont Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Polkton, North Carolina (distant rural setting), enrolling 1,833 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,833 undergradsDistant ruralCold winters

About Polkton, North Carolina

Polkton is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. Polkton was founded by Leonidas Lafayette Polk, and incorporated in 1875. The Billy Horne Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant rural
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
118 miles
Nearest airport
39 miles to Concord-Padgett (USA)

How South Piedmont Community College compares

Graduation rate38%

Higher than 23% · #61 of 90 in North Carolina

First-year retention57%

Higher than 18%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$37,308

Higher than 58% · #11 of 84 in North Carolina

Average net price$6,675

Cheaper than 84% · #37 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina

Student–faculty ratio19 : 1

Lower than 35%

Undergraduate enrollment1,833

Larger than 81%

Percentiles compare South Piedmont 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 North Carolina.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

1,833undergrads
  • Women1,29270%
  • Men54130%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White47%
  • Black22%
  • Hispanic21%
  • Asian2.1%
  • Other or multiracial8.6%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,833
Student–faculty ratio
19 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
17%
First-generation students
47%
Students over 25
14%
Median family income
$19,638
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$57,006
Endowment
$3,342,463

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 445 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From North Carolina99%
  • Other U.S. states0.9%

Most first-years stay in state — South Piedmont Community College draws overwhelmingly from North Carolina.

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
$2,022
Out-of-state tuition
$6,630
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,400
Total cost of attendance
$16,111
Average net price
$6,675

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
38%
First-year retention
57%
Transferred to another college
15%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$31,212
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$37,308
Median debt at graduation
Students with federal loans
0%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
38%
First-generation
17%

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

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%.

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 4 campuses (4,013 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
0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Aggravated assault
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
$4,948
$30–48k
$5,576
$48–75k
$7,866
$75–110k
$11,281
$110k+
$16,111

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?

South Piedmont Community College funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.

Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$37,308
Typical debt at graduation
Debt vs. one year's pay
Out-earn a HS grad
35%
Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$34,074
Men
$43,305

Men out-earn women by $9,231 (27%) 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
32°F
Annual rain
47.8″
Annual snow
3.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Wadesboro, NC US station (8.1 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 South Piedmont Community College

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

Colleges near South Piedmont 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.