10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$314,886at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Tri-County Community College
⌖ Murphy, NC · 3 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
MODELED SCENARIO · Negative payoff
−$314,886 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.
—Modeled economic break-even
−149%Modeled 10-year ROI
$34,631Observed 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.
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
- Rural
- Admissions
- Open admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
Cost, debt, completion and earnings context
$7,799Average net price / year
$18,830Cost of attendance
Not availableMedian federal student debt · completer borrowers
Not availablePublished 10-year payment estimate
$34,631Median earnings · year 5 after completion
54.3%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
472Student 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
$34,483Year 1
$41,132Year 4
$34,631Year 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.
1Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Associate's Degree$83,8802Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$41,4963Business Administration, Management and Operations · Associate's Degree$33,155Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Comparable colleges in NC
Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Clyde, NC
Haywood Community College
- Annual net price
- $6,723
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $36,246
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -142%
Alamance Community College
- Annual net price
- $6,109
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $36,185
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -143%
Roanoke-Chowan Community College
- Annual net price
- $5,570
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $36,050
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -144%
Blue Ridge Community College
- Annual net price
- $5,756
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $36,906
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -140%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2023–24 awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's Degree | $83,880 | Not available | Not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's Degree | $41,496 | Not available | Not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Associate's Degree | $33,155 | Not available | Not 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.