Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Southwest Tennessee Community College

Memphis, TN · 5 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$226,086 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
−114%Modeled 10-year ROI
$42,293Observed 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
−$226,086at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$199,0160
2
4
6
8
−$226,08610
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$4,778
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$17,750
Sticker price
Average net price$4,754
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$12,999
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
City
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

$4,754Average net price / year
$12,999Cost of attendance
Not availableMedian federal student debt · completer borrowers
Not availablePublished 10-year payment estimate
$42,293Median earnings · year 5 after completion
19.0%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
5,047Student 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$4,286
$30–48k$4,304
$48–75k$6,567
$75–110k$6,796
$110k+$6,815
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$42,293
Year 6$30,317
Year 10$34,071
Full-time retention
45.7%
Part-time retention
18.7%
Completion within 200% of normal time
23.8%

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.

43thEarnings percentile
3thCompletion 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.

$52,109Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$8,875Median federal debt across categories that report debt
20%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$35,491Year 1
$44,124Year 4
$42,293Year 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$80,0522Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services · Associate's Degree$54,7363Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$52,1094Business Administration, Management and Operations · Associate's Degree$47,2865Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$35,883

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

BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in TN

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

Knoxville, TN

Pellissippi State Community College

Annual net price
$4,983
Observed earnings · year 5
$42,497
Modeled 10-year ROI
-113%
Open college profile →
Morristown, TN

Walters State Community College

Annual net price
$5,387
Observed earnings · year 5
$41,967
Modeled 10-year ROI
-115%
Open college profile →
Harriman, TN

Roane State Community College

Annual net price
$4,270
Observed earnings · year 5
$43,551
Modeled 10-year ROI
-107%
Open college profile →
Cleveland, TN

Cleveland State Community College

Annual net price
$6,384
Observed earnings · year 5
$43,313
Modeled 10-year ROI
-108%
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$80,052$16,593Not reported
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssociate's Degree$54,736Not availableNot reported
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$52,109$8,87541
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree$47,286Not availableNot reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$35,883$8,750Not reported

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.