Catawba Valley Community College

About Catawba Valley Community College

Thinking about Catawba Valley Community College, a college in North Carolina where more students graduate in Liberal Arts than anything else? The four things worth knowing are what it actually costs after aid, whether you would get in, whether students finish, and what they earn after they do.

Catawba Valley Community College is a public institution offering associate degrees based in Hickory, North Carolina. It enrolls 2,741 students (a mid-sized student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.

Official website: cvcc.edu

Acceptance

Open

Graduation

25%

Net Price

$10,528

Median Earnings (10yr)

$36,977

Enrollment

2,741

Student : Faculty

13:1

How It Measures Up

These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (2-Year), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.

Admissions & Acceptance Rate

As a two-year college, Catawba Valley Community College admits essentially everyone who qualifies, so plan around cost and completion instead of your odds of getting in.

Cost & Financial Aid

Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $10,528 a year on average, it sits below what public colleges charge nationally. That still leaves most families a gap to cover, but a manageable one. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.

The average hides a wide spread by household income, so it is worth estimating what a family at your income would actually pay before treating this as the price.

Full Cost Breakdown

Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.

Tuition & Fees (in-state)

$2,427

Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)

$7,803

Room & Board (off-campus)

$12,734

Books & Supplies

$1,870

Other Expenses (off-campus)

$12,794

Total Cost of Attendance

$20,446

Net Price by Family Income

Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.

• Under $30,000
  $9,170
• $30,001 – $48,000
  $9,639
• $48,001 – $75,000
  $13,129
• $75,001 – $110,000
  $15,469

Debt at Graduation

Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.

Median Debt by Student Type

Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.

Graduation Rate & Retention

25% of students who start here finish within six years, and 67% come back after first year. Most students who start here do not finish. That is the single most important number on this page. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.

Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.

After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes

Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $36,977 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.

Earnings by Demographic

Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.

By Gender

Loan Repayment Progression

Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.

Who Studies Here

Who you would actually be sitting next to: 2,741 students, a mid-sized community. Worth knowing: 50% are the first in their family to go to college, and 64% study part-time, so many are working alongside classes.

Race & Ethnicity Breakdown

Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.

Student Life & Campus Culture

Where students live, learn, and connect at Catawba Valley Community College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.

What You Can Study

After that comes the national picture for Health graduates, which shows what the field pays across every college rather than just this one.

Catawba Valley Community College offers a varied set of programs: 38 distinct programs across 16 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.

Faculty & Resources

There are 13 students for every instructor here: about average, so expect a mix of small seminars and big lectures.

Faculty by Rank

124 instructional faculty across 1 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.

Pros & Cons of Catawba Valley Community College

No college is right for everyone. Here is where Catawba Valley Community College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.

Read against a single profile these cut both ways, which is why it helps to put two colleges side by side on the same measures rather than judging one in isolation.