Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Walters State Community College

Morristown, TN · 11 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$231,878 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
−115%Modeled 10-year ROI
$41,967Observed 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
−$231,878at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$201,5480
2
4
6
8
−$231,87810
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$4,752
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$17,736
Sticker price
Average net price$5,387
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$14,313
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

$5,387Average net price / year
$14,313Cost of attendance
Not availableMedian federal student debt · completer borrowers
Not availablePublished 10-year payment estimate
$41,967Median earnings · year 5 after completion
33.3%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
3,591Student 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$4,826
$30–48k$5,087
$48–75k$6,453
$75–110k$7,763
$110k+Not available
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$41,967
Year 6$31,089
Year 10$37,085
Full-time retention
52.9%
Part-time retention
51.7%
Completion within 200% of normal time
39.3%

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.

42thEarnings percentile
16thCompletion 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.

$43,435Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$8,429Median federal debt across categories that report debt
27%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$36,617Year 1
$46,969Year 4
$41,967Year 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$68,3242Criminal Justice and Corrections · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$55,8343Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Associate's Degree$54,7514Computer and Information Sciences, General · Associate's Degree$51,4985Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services · Associate's Degree$46,1166Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$43,4357Education, General · Associate's Degree$42,1278Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$40,973

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 →
Memphis, TN

Southwest Tennessee Community College

Annual net price
$4,754
Observed earnings · year 5
$42,293
Modeled 10-year ROI
-114%
Open college profile →
Blountville, TN

Northeast State Community College

Annual net price
$6,864
Observed earnings · year 5
$41,395
Modeled 10-year ROI
-117%
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$68,324$8,429Not reported
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$55,834$16,70220
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssociate's Degree$54,751Not availableNot reported
Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralAssociate's Degree$51,498Not availableNot reported
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssociate's Degree$46,116Not availableNot reported
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$43,435Not available38
Education, GeneralAssociate's Degree$42,127Not availableNot reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$40,973$5,500Not reported
Health and Medical Administrative ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$37,419Not available36
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree$34,356Not availableNot reported
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$30,875Not available36

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.