Public · Community college

St Charles Community College

Cottleville, Missouri · Large suburb

#2 best value in Missouri
21%
Transfer rate
$5,837
Avg net price
25%
Grad / completion
$42,422
Median earnings

St Charles Community College is a public associate-granting institution in Cottleville, Missouri (large suburb setting), enrolling 5,017 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 5,017 undergradsLarge suburbNJCAA Division ICold winters

About Cottleville, Missouri

Cottleville is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. Cottleville is one of the oldest towns in St. Charles County. The town was first settled by Captain Warren G. Cottle in 1798 under a Spanish land grant. The area saw little development until 1810 when the John Pitman family arrived. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
To Great Lakes shore
262 miles
Nearest airport
15 miles to St. Louis Lambert (STL) · major hub

How St Charles Community College compares

Graduation rate25%

Higher than 8% · #68 of 70 in Missouri

First-year retention63%

Higher than 30%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,422

Higher than 77% · #13 of 62 in Missouri

Average net price$5,837

Cheaper than 87% · #2 cheapest of 68 in Missouri

Median debt at graduation$6,187

Lower than 94%

Student–faculty ratio22 : 1

Lower than 21%

Undergraduate enrollment5,017

Larger than 91%

Percentiles compare St Charles 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 Missouri.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

5,017undergrads
  • Women3,06961%
  • Men1,94839%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White66%
  • Black9.3%
  • Hispanic7.0%
  • Asian2.0%
  • Other or multiracial15%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
5,017
Student–faculty ratio
22 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
25%
First-generation students
42%
Students over 25
18%
Median family income
$30,934
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$76,995
Endowment
$101,778

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
$3,048
Out-of-state tuition
$6,096
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,100
Total cost of attendance
$13,629
Average net price
$5,837

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
25%
First-year retention
63%
Transferred to another college
21%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$37,087
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$42,422
Median debt at graduation
$6,187
Students with federal loans
6%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
40%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
25%
Low-income (Pell)
19%
First-generation
18%

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
121 (74 men · 47 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 (5)

Soccer44
Baseball37
Softball20
Track and Field (Outdoor)12
Cross Country8

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)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (6,143 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.

0.7reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
0.3
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
$3,436
$30–48k
$4,407
$48–75k
$7,698
$75–110k
$8,856
$110k+
$9,348

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.

6%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,022
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 6% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,022. 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 1,195 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)
$42,422
Typical debt at graduation
$6,187
Debt vs. one year's pay
15%
Out-earn a HS grad
52%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.5 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
$38,716
Men
$51,259

Men out-earn women by $12,543 (32%) 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
21°F
Annual rain
42.3″
Annual snow
14.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, ST Peters 2 SE, MO US station (2.8 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 St Charles Community College

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

Colleges near St Charles 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.