Public · Community college

West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Paducah, Kentucky · Small city

9%
Transfer rate: $5,353
Avg net price: 50%
Grad / completion: $34,891
Median earnings

West Kentucky Community and Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Paducah, Kentucky (small city setting), enrolling 2,851 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,851 undergradsSmall cityCold winters

About Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah is a city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. Paducah was first settled as "Pekin" around 1821 by European Americans James and William Pore. The town was laid out by explorer and surveyor William Clark in 1827 and renamed Paducah. In 1996, the Paducah Wall to Wall mural program was begun by the Louisiana mural artist Robert Dafford and his team on the floodwall in downtown Paducah. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Small city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 87 miles to Evansville, IN
To Great Lakes shore: 324 miles
Nearest airport: 6 miles to Barkley (PAH)

How West Kentucky Community and Technical College compares

Graduation rate50%

Higher than 36% · #31 of 46 in Kentucky

First-year retention71%

Higher than 45%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$34,891

Higher than 49% · #13 of 40 in Kentucky

Average net price$5,353

Cheaper than 90% · #10 cheapest of 50 in Kentucky

Median debt at graduation$8,986

Lower than 66%

Student–faculty ratio18 : 1

Lower than 39%

Undergraduate enrollment2,851

Larger than 85%

Percentiles compare West Kentucky Community and 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 Kentucky.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1,79663%
Men1,05537%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White77%
Black8.8%
Hispanic7.0%
Asian1.0%
Other or multiracial5.9%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 2,851
Student–faculty ratio: 18 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 33%
First-generation students: 48%
Students over 25: 30%
Median family income: $19,678
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $49,887

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 716 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Kentucky94%
Other U.S. states6.3%

Most first-years stay in state — West Kentucky Community and Technical College draws overwhelmingly from Kentucky.

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: $4,728
Out-of-state tuition: $6,432
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,268
Total cost of attendance: $14,084
Average net price: $5,353

Outcomes

Graduated: 50%
First-year retention: 71%
Transferred to another college: 9%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $29,823
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $34,891
Median debt at graduation: $8,986
Students with federal loans: 9%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 30%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

50%

Low-income (Pell)

26%

First-generation

27%

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

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

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

$4,345

$30–48k

$4,561

$48–75k

$6,414

$75–110k

$9,291

$110k+

$12,695

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.

41%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,250

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 41% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,250. 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 589 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): $34,891
Typical debt at graduation: $8,986
Debt vs. one year's pay: 26%
Out-earn a HS grad: 39%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.6 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

$31,474

Men

$41,672

Men out-earn women by $10,198 (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: 89°F
Winter low: 25°F
Annual rain: 49.1″
Annual snow: 3.1″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Brookport Dam 52, IL US station (5.1 mi from campus).

What West Kentucky Community and Technical College graduates study — and earn

Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

328 grads$31k 1 yr— 5 yr$10k debt

328$31,020—$9,500 Precision Metal WorkingCert.

295 grads$36k 1 yr$47k 5 yr$8k debt

295$35,603$47,139$8,250 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

266 grads$27k 1 yr$36k 5 yr$10k debt

266$26,590$35,845$9,531 Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

265 grads$29k 1 yr— 5 yr$12k debt

265$28,653—$12,445 Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

133 grads$32k 1 yr— 5 yr$6k debt

133$31,942—$5,500 Health and Medical Administrative ServicesCert.

124 grads$27k 1 yr— 5 yr$14k debt

124$26,535—$13,556 Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

123 grads$36k 1 yr— 5 yr$11k debt

123$36,332—$10,875 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

90 grads$36k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

90$35,929——Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

87 grads$18k 1 yr— 5 yr$8k debt

87$18,132—$7,928 CarpentersCert.

82 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

82———Business Operations Support and Assistant ServicesCert.

74 grads$27k 1 yr— 5 yr$12k debt

74$26,607—$12,059 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

60 grads$59k 1 yr$63k 5 yr$13k debt

60$58,951$62,565$13,000

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 West Kentucky Community and Technical College

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

Owensboro Community and Technical College

Public

Owensboro, Kentucky · Fringe rural · 32 mi to Evansville

Students: 2,648
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 6%
Earnings: $36k

Gateway Community and Technical College

Public

Florence, Kentucky · Large suburb · 12 mi to Cincinnati

Students: 3,167
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $36k

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College

Public

Elizabethtown, Kentucky · Small city · 39 mi to Louisville

Students: 4,088
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 9%
Earnings: $36k

Madisonville Community College

Public

Madisonville, Kentucky · Distant town · 42 mi to Evansville

Students: 1,841
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $36k

Maysville Community and Technical College

Public

Maysville, Kentucky · Fringe rural · 50 mi to Cincinnati

Students: 2,284
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 5%
Earnings: $32k

Ashland Community and Technical College

Public

Ashland, Kentucky · Small city · 56 mi to Charleston

Students: 1,631
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 7%
Earnings: $35k

Colleges near West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Shawnee Community College

Ullin, IL · Public · Certificate · 698 students

25 mi

Murray State University

Murray, KY · Public · Bachelor's · 6,688 students

36 mi

Southeastern Illinois College

Harrisburg, IL · Public · Certificate · 680 students

50 mi

The University of Tennessee-Martin

Martin, TN · Public · Bachelor's · 4,866 students

51 mi

Southeast Missouri State University

Cape Girardeau, MO · Public · Bachelor's · 6,373 students

51 mi

Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Cape Girardeau, MO · Private nonprofit · Associate · 200 students

52 mi

Trend Setters School

Cape Girardeau, MO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 65 students

52 mi

Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center

Cape Girardeau, MO · Public · Certificate · 159 students

52 mi

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.