10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$240,616at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Lake Area Technical College
⌖ Watertown, SD · 20 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
MODELED SCENARIO · Negative payoff
−$240,616 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
At these assumptions, the estimated earnings premium does not recover the modeled economic investment within ten years.
739.1 yrsModeled economic break-even
−99%Modeled 10-year ROI
$45,330Observed earnings · year 5
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
Cost, debt, completion and earnings context
$15,979Average net price / year
$19,637Cost of attendance
$12,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$127/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$45,330Median earnings · year 5 after completion
73.1%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
1,812Student size
Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$42,193Year 1
$49,488Year 4
$45,330Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
1Construction Engineering Technology/Technician · Associate's Degree$72,2252Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$69,9533Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$60,7634Computer Science · Associate's Degree$60,7525Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$56,6336Criminal Justice and Corrections · Associate's Degree$52,8227Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions · Associate's Degree$51,4028Precision Metal Working · Associate's Degree$51,201Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Comparable colleges in SD
Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Spearfish, SD
Black Hills State University
- Annual net price
- $15,911
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $46,420
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -94%
Western Dakota Technical College
- Annual net price
- $12,670
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $43,662
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -106%
Northern State University
- Annual net price
- $15,812
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $51,509
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -73%
Southeast Technical College
- Annual net price
- $17,400
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $50,646
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -77%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.