Public · Community college

Southwest Tennessee Community College

Memphis, Tennessee · Large city

16%
Transfer rate
$4,754
Avg net price
19%
Grad / completion
$34,071
Median earnings

Southwest Tennessee Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Memphis, Tennessee (large city setting), enrolling 5,047 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 5,047 undergradsLarge cityNJCAA Division ICold winters

About Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Occupying a substantial bluff rising from the Mississippi River, the site of Memphis has been a natural location for human settlement by varying indigenous cultures over thousands of years. One of the largest celebrations of the city is Memphis in May. The month-long series of events promotes Memphis's heritage and outreach of its people far beyond the city's borders. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
10 miles to Memphis, TN
To the ocean
324 miles
Nearest airport
10 miles to Memphis (MEM) · major hub

How Southwest Tennessee Community College compares

Graduation rate19%

Higher than 4% · #79 of 81 in Tennessee

First-year retention46%

Higher than 8%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$34,071

Higher than 46% · #38 of 70 in Tennessee

Average net price$4,754

Cheaper than 92% · #6 cheapest of 82 in Tennessee

Student–faculty ratio20 : 1

Lower than 29%

Undergraduate enrollment5,047

Larger than 91%

Percentiles compare Southwest Tennessee 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

5,047undergrads
  • Women3,14762%
  • Men1,90038%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White20%
  • Black63%
  • Hispanic9.7%
  • Asian2.0%
  • Other or multiracial5.0%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
5,047
Student–faculty ratio
20 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
41%
First-generation students
46%
Students over 25
29%
Median family income
$17,120
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$61,866
Endowment
$2,151,678

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 1,303 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Tennessee96%
  • Other U.S. states4.3%

Most first-years stay in state — Southwest Tennessee 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
$4,778
Out-of-state tuition
$17,750
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,545
Total cost of attendance
$12,999
Average net price
$4,754

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
19%
First-year retention
46%
Transferred to another college
16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$30,317
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$34,071
Median debt at graduation
Students with federal loans
0%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
19%
First-generation
10%

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
87 (46 men · 41 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 (4)

Baseball34
Basketball23
Soccer17
Softball13

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
7

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 6 campuses (7,004 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.

3.0reported offenses a year
0.7 violent a year2.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
2.0
Aggravated assault
0.3
Burglary
0.3
Fondling
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
$4,286
$30–48k
$4,304
$48–75k
$6,567
$75–110k
$6,796
$110k+
$6,815

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.

5%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$7,532
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 5% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $7,532. 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 1,012 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)
$34,071
Typical debt at graduation
Debt vs. one year's pay
Out-earn a HS grad
33%
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
$32,818
Men
$37,553

Men out-earn women by $4,735 (14%) 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
30°F
Annual rain
57.2″
Annual snow
2.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.95.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Memphis Wfo, TN US station (4.2 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 Southwest Tennessee Community College

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

Colleges near Southwest Tennessee 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.