Public · Community college

Wilkes Community College

Wilkesboro, North Carolina · Distant town

#1 best value in North Carolina

6%
Transfer rate: -$264
Avg net price: 55%
Grad / completion: $34,728
Median earnings

Wilkes Community College is a public certificate-granting institution in Wilkesboro, North Carolina (distant town setting), enrolling 1,355 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,355 undergradsDistant townCold winters

About Wilkesboro, North Carolina

Wilkesboro is a town in and the county seat of Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. For many decades a popular historic spot in Wilkesboro was the "Tory Oak", a large oak tree from which Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, a well-known Wilkes County patriot during the American Revolutionary War, hanged Loyalist militia leaders who supported the British king and opposed American independence from Britain. Wilkesboro's largest industry is the Tyson Foods poultry processing plant; it is one of the largest poultry plants east of the Mississippi River. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Distant town
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 52 miles to Winston-Salem, NC
To the ocean: 213 miles
Nearest airport: 58 miles to Concord-Padgett (USA)

How Wilkes Community College compares

Graduation rate55%

Higher than 43% · #29 of 90 in North Carolina

First-year retention69%

Higher than 41%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$34,728

Higher than 48% · #27 of 84 in North Carolina

Average net price-$264

Cheaper than 99% · #1 cheapest of 90 in North Carolina

Median debt at graduation$7,625

Lower than 78%

Student–faculty ratio8 : 1

Lower than 89%

Undergraduate enrollment1,355

Larger than 77%

Percentiles compare Wilkes 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

Women78758%
Men56842%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White76%
Black2.8%
Hispanic17%
Other or multiracial3.7%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,355
Student–faculty ratio: 8 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 45%
First-generation students: 48%
Students over 25: 13%
Median family income: $21,928
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $56,790
Endowment: $5,966,169

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 482 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From North Carolina99%
Other U.S. states0.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Wilkes Community College draws overwhelmingly from North 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: $2,572
Out-of-state tuition: $8,716
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $702
Total cost of attendance: $9,844
Average net price: -$264

Outcomes

Graduated: 55%
First-year retention: 69%
Transferred to another college: 6%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $32,842
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $34,728
Median debt at graduation: $7,625
Students with federal loans: 0%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 29%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

55%

First-generation

29%

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: 0.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 1
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

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

Aggravated assault

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

-$1,444

$30–48k

-$992

$48–75k

$1,679

$75–110k

$4,528

$110k+

$6,653

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.

57%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,794

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 57% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,794. 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 213 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): $34,728
Typical debt at graduation: $7,625
Debt vs. one year's pay: 22%
Out-earn a HS grad: 36%

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

$30,135

Men

$39,923

Men out-earn women by $9,788 (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: 87°F
Winter low: 27°F
Annual rain: 51.7″
Annual snow: 5.6″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, N Wilkesboro, NC US station (2.5 mi from campus).

What Wilkes Community College graduates study — and earn

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

199 grads$26k 1 yr$37k 5 yr$7k debt

199$25,681$36,855$7,250 Business Administration, Management and OperationsCert.

128 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

128———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

117 grads$24k 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

117$24,245——Precision Metal WorkingCert.

68 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

68———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCert.

51 grads$41k 1 yr$44k 5 yr$11k debt

51$41,251$44,129$11,000 Design and Applied ArtsCert.

47 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

47———Engineering Technologies/Technicians, GeneralCert.

44 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

44———Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralCert.

40 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

40———Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and InspectionCert.

40 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

40———Agricultural Production OperationsCert.

34 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

34———Culinary Arts and Related ServicesCert.

33 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

33———Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

29 grads$63k 1 yr$62k 5 yr— debt

29$62,962$61,820—

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 Wilkes Community College

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

Western Piedmont Community College

Public

Morganton, North Carolina · Small city · 49 mi to Asheville

Students: 1,339
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 23%
Earnings: $34k

Southwestern Community College

Public

Sylva, North Carolina · Distant town · 41 mi to Asheville

Students: 1,249
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 6%
Earnings: $34k

Lenoir Community College

Public

Kinston, North Carolina · Distant town · 71 mi to Raleigh

Students: 1,469
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 22%
Earnings: $34k

Surry Community College

Public

Dobson, North Carolina · Distant rural · 33 mi to Winston-Salem

Students: 1,475
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 33%
Earnings: $36k

Vance-Granville Community College

Public

Henderson, North Carolina · Distant town · 32 mi to Durham

Students: 1,665
Tuition: $2k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $34k

Nash Community College

Public

Rocky Mount, North Carolina · Fringe rural · 44 mi to Raleigh

Students: 1,689
Tuition: $3k
Transfer: 28%
Earnings: $35k

Colleges near Wilkes Community College

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

Hudson, NC · Public · Associate · 2,393 students

26 mi

Appalachian State University

Boone, NC · Public · Bachelor's · 19,444 students

28 mi

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Hickory, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,359 students

29 mi

Mitchell Community College

Statesville, NC · Public · Associate · 1,948 students

29 mi

Catawba Valley Community College

Hickory, NC · Public · Associate · 2,741 students

31 mi

Surry Community College

Dobson, NC · Public · Certificate · 1,475 students

31 mi

Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine

Sugar Grove, NC · Private nonprofit · Graduate

35 mi

Lees-McRae College

Banner Elk, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 873 students

39 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.