Public · Community college

Wake Technical Community College

Raleigh, North Carolina · Large suburb

18%
Transfer rate
$8,759
Avg net price
33%
Grad / completion
$41,769
Median earnings

Wake Technical Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Raleigh, North Carolina (large suburb setting), enrolling 19,675 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicLarge · 19,675 undergradsLarge suburbNJCAA Division IICold winters

About Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Bath, the oldest town in North Carolina, was the first nominal capital of the colony from 1705 until 1722, when Edenton took over the role. The colony had no permanent institutions of government until the new capital, New Bern, was established in 1743. The Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek hosts major international touring acts. In 2011, the Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater opened (now sponsored as the Red Hat Amphitheater), which hosts numerous concerts primarily in the summer months. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
10 miles to Raleigh, NC
To the ocean
93 miles
Nearest airport
16 miles to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) · major hub

How Wake Technical Community College compares

Graduation rate33%

Higher than 16% · #75 of 90 in North Carolina

First-year retention72%

Higher than 48%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$41,769

Higher than 76% · #7 of 84 in North Carolina

Average net price$8,759

Cheaper than 76% · #46 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina

Median debt at graduation$12,000

Lower than 29%

Student–faculty ratio18 : 1

Lower than 39%

Undergraduate enrollment19,675

Larger than 99%

Percentiles compare Wake Technical 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

19,675undergrads
  • Women11,41758%
  • Men8,25842%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White42%
  • Black22%
  • Hispanic20%
  • Asian5.1%
  • Other or multiracial11%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
19,675
Student–faculty ratio
18 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
28%
First-generation students
38%
Students over 25
26%
Median family income
$24,587
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$61,380
Endowment
$19,443,604

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$2,254
Out-of-state tuition
$6,862
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,648
Total cost of attendance
$15,953
Average net price
$8,759

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
33%
First-year retention
72%
Transferred to another college
18%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$35,300
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$41,769
Median debt at graduation
$12,000
Students with federal loans
16%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
26%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
33%
Low-income (Pell)
12%
First-generation
12%

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 II
Varsity athletes
181 (95 men · 86 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 (6)

Soccer55
Baseball46
Basketball35
Softball18
Volleyball16
Beach Volleyball11

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)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
3

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 10 campuses (24,609 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.

1.7reported offenses a year
0.7 violent a year1.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
0.7
Rape
0.3
Motor vehicle theft
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
$6,682
$30–48k
$7,486
$48–75k
$9,108
$75–110k
$12,603
$110k+
$15,067

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.

76%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$3,647
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 76% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $3,647. 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 2,030 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)
$41,769
Typical debt at graduation
$12,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
29%
Out-earn a HS grad
49%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.9 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
$38,288
Men
$46,936

Men out-earn women by $8,648 (23%) 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
28°F
Annual rain
50.7″
Annual snow
4.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.85.6JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Garner, NC US station (2.9 mi from campus).

What Wake Technical Community College graduates study — and earn

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 Wake Technical Community College

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

Colleges near Wake Technical 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.