Public · Community college

Wharton County Junior College

Wharton, Texas · Distant town

30%
Transfer rate
$4,666
Avg net price
27%
Grad / completion
$44,960
Median earnings

Wharton County Junior College is a public associate-granting institution in Wharton, Texas (distant town setting), enrolling 4,585 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 4,585 undergradsDistant townNJCAA Division I

About Wharton, Texas

Wharton is a city in and the county seat of Wharton County, Texas, United States. The community was named after two leaders in the Anglo-American struggle for Texas independence, brothers John and William Wharton. What developed as a plantation community along the Colorado River was first settled in 1846 by some of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant town
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
53 miles to Houston, TX
To the ocean
44 miles
Nearest airport
53 miles to William P. Hobby (HOU) · major hub

How Wharton County Junior College compares

Graduation rate27%

Higher than 9% · #225 of 253 in Texas

First-year retention71%

Higher than 46%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$44,960

Higher than 83% · #22 of 206 in Texas

Average net price$4,666

Cheaper than 92% · #25 cheapest of 252 in Texas

Median debt at graduation$7,703

Lower than 77%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment4,585

Larger than 90%

Percentiles compare Wharton County Junior 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 Texas.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

4,585undergrads
  • Women2,65058%
  • Men1,93542%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White23%
  • Black13%
  • Hispanic47%
  • Asian15%
  • Other or multiracial2.0%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
4,585
Student–faculty ratio
16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
27%
First-generation students
43%
Students over 25
15%
Median family income
$31,645
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$58,338
Endowment
$14,137,272

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 1,378 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Texas99%
  • Other U.S. states0.7%

Most first-years stay in state — Wharton County Junior College draws overwhelmingly from Texas.

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
$3,192
Out-of-state tuition
$5,904
Room & board
$6,000
Books & supplies
$1,618
Total cost of attendance
$11,463
Average net price
$4,666

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
27%
First-year retention
71%
Transferred to another college
30%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$36,405
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$44,960
Median debt at graduation
$7,703
Students with federal loans
16%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
37%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
27%
Low-income (Pell)
19%
First-generation
21%

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
Yes
Dorm capacity
127
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
3%
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NJCAA Division I
Varsity athletes
81 (49 men · 32 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 (3)

Rodeo36
Baseball31
Volleyball14

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)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 4 campuses (5,504 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.

0.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

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
$1,779
$30–48k
$2,267
$48–75k
$5,236
$75–110k
$9,365
$110k+
$10,787

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.

17%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,616
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 17% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,616. 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 1,064 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)
$44,960
Typical debt at graduation
$7,703
Debt vs. one year's pay
17%
Out-earn a HS grad
52%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.7 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
$39,670
Men
$52,542

Men out-earn women by $12,872 (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
96°F
Winter low
42°F
Annual rain
49.6″
Annual snow
0.9″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°70°110°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.95.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, EL Campo, TX US station (13.8 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 Wharton County Junior College

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

Colleges near Wharton County Junior 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.