Public · Community college

Tri-County Technical College

Pendleton, South Carolina · Midsize suburb

#5 for grad earnings in South Carolina
35%
Transfer rate
$14,670
Avg net price
42%
Grad / completion
$40,101
Median earnings

Tri-County Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Pendleton, South Carolina (midsize suburb setting), enrolling 5,071 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 5,071 undergradsMidsize suburbCold winters

About Pendleton, South Carolina

Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. After England claimed South Carolina as a colony, the Cherokee traded with the British. After the Cherokee lost the war of 1759–60 against the British, the British dominated trade in the region and began to settle more of the land with large farms. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
To the ocean
183 miles
Nearest airport
37 miles to Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP)

How Tri-County Technical College compares

Graduation rate42%

Higher than 29% · #25 of 45 in South Carolina

First-year retention55%

Higher than 16%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$40,101

Higher than 69% · #5 of 40 in South Carolina

Average net price$14,670

Cheaper than 52% · #27 cheapest of 47 in South Carolina

Median debt at graduation$9,000

Lower than 66%

Student–faculty ratio20 : 1

Lower than 29%

Undergraduate enrollment5,071

Larger than 91%

Percentiles compare Tri-County Technical 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 South Carolina.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

5,071undergrads
  • Women2,71954%
  • Men2,35246%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White71%
  • Black12%
  • Hispanic9.6%
  • Asian1.4%
  • Other or multiracial6.1%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
5,071
Student–faculty ratio
20 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
36%
First-generation students
39%
Students over 25
16%
Median family income
$31,461
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$56,799
Endowment
$37,062,541

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 2,009 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From South Carolina90%
  • Other U.S. states10%

Most first-years stay in state — Tri-County Technical College draws overwhelmingly from South 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
$4,448
Out-of-state tuition
$11,815
Room & board
Books & supplies
$2,600
Total cost of attendance
$25,057
Average net price
$14,670

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
42%
First-year retention
55%
Transferred to another college
35%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$37,275
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$40,101
Median debt at graduation
$9,000
Students with federal loans
11%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
41%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
42%
Low-income (Pell)
19%
First-generation
19%

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
$30

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)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
2

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 4 campuses (5,890 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 violent a year0.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
0.7

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
$11,937
$30–48k
$12,576
$48–75k
$15,201
$75–110k
$17,105
$110k+
$19,459

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.

13%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,948
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 13% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,948. 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 1,877 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)
$40,101
Typical debt at graduation
$9,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
22%
Out-earn a HS grad
45%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.2 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
$35,125
Men
$48,048

Men out-earn women by $12,923 (37%) 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
52.4″
Annual snow
2.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.3JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Clemson Univ, SC US station (2.2 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 Tri-County Technical College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Tri-County Technical College side by side →

Colleges near Tri-County Technical 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.