Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

South Plains College

Levelland, TX · 12 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$231,214 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.

Modeled economic break-even
−112%Modeled 10-year ROI
$42,595Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
Includes direct price and earnings forgone while studying. Assumes $45,000 in alternative annual earnings and no wage growth. How we calculate it
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$231,214at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$207,1640
2
4
6
8
−$231,21410
Years after graduationBreak-even: years
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.

Published in-state tuition$2,731
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$5,155
Sticker price
Average net price$6,791
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$13,784
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Main award level
Associate degrees
Campus setting
Town
Admissions
Open admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$6,791Average net price / year
$13,784Cost of attendance
$10,500Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$111/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$42,595Median earnings · year 5 after completion
28.9%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
6,005Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$5,394
$30–48k$5,369
$48–75k$8,721
$75–110k$12,059
$110k+$13,314
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$42,595
Year 6$35,025
Year 10$41,276
Full-time retention
52.5%
Part-time retention
28.8%
Completion within 200% of normal time
29.6%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

44thEarnings percentile
10thCompletion percentile
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.

$47,623Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$13,446Median federal debt across categories that report debt
36%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$30,401Year 1
$45,944Year 4
$42,595Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Associate's Degree$84,8362Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Associate's Degree$61,0183Business Administration, Management and Operations · Associate's Degree$54,9864Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$52,6045Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods · Associate's Degree$50,1496Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$47,6237Precision Metal Working · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$47,1368Criminal Justice and Corrections · Associate's Degree$46,129

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in TX

Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

Ranger, TX

Ranger College

Annual net price
$6,182
Observed earnings · year 5
$42,768
Modeled 10-year ROI
-111%
Open college profile →
Mount Pleasant, TX

Northeast Texas Community College

Annual net price
$6,706
Observed earnings · year 5
$40,808
Modeled 10-year ROI
-120%
Open college profile →
Paris, TX

Paris Junior College

Annual net price
$7,690
Observed earnings · year 5
$41,293
Modeled 10-year ROI
-118%
Open college profile →
Big Spring, TX

Howard College

Annual net price
$6,147
Observed earnings · year 5
$44,333
Modeled 10-year ROI
-103%
Open college profile →
ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree$84,836$18,500Not reported
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssociate's Degree$61,018Not availableNot reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree$54,986Not availableNot reported
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$52,604$16,70540
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsAssociate's Degree$50,149Not availableNot reported
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$47,623Not available9
Precision Metal WorkingUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$47,136Not available11
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsAssociate's Degree$46,129Not availableNot reported
Psychology, GeneralAssociate's Degree$38,888Not availableNot reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$36,034$13,446Not reported
Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$27,197$11,00085
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$9,29140

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

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.