10-yr median earnings
$40,251
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Dalton, Georgia
Dalton State College
Dalton State College is a public institution in Dalton, Georgia. as a public institution, published Scorecard outcomes are the federal Title-IV cohort view of former students — not every graduate and not a guarantee for any one enrollee.
- $5,012
- Avg net price / yr
- $40,251
- 10-yr median earnings
- 27.6%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Dalton State College posts modest former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 48th pct.
- former-student earnings, US
- 27.6%
- 150%-time completion
- +7%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Small
Carnegie: Bacc: Diverse
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Dalton State College profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
C-
College Value Score
50/100
Dalton State College
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings D
$40,251
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price A+
$5,012
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
27.6%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt C-
$12,937
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment C+
65.6%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention F
70.9%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$5,012
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
27.6%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 27.6%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Dalton State College vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Dalton State College ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Dalton State College: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$40,251 48th percentile higher than 48% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Dalton State College | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $40,251 | #2631 of 5103 | 48th |
| Average net price | $5,012 | #325 of 5020 | 94th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 27.6% | #4421 of 4858 | 9th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 4,553 | #803 of 5462 | 85th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
4,553
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
27.6%
150%-time completion
$40,251
10-yr median earnings
70.9%
First-year retention
How Dalton State College ranks in Georgia
State rank among 141 reporting Georgia colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Dalton State College | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $40,251 | #55 of 141 | 61st |
| Average net price | $5,012 | #11 of 127 | 91st (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 27.6% | #100 of 123 | 19th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 4,553 | #25 of 133 | 81st |
Highest former-student earnings in Georgia
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami Ad School-Atlanta | $106,192 | $60,682 |
| 2 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | $102,772 | $12,116 |
| 3 | Chamberlain University-Georgia | $92,405 | $33,188 |
| 4 | United States University | $80,980 | - |
| 5 | Emory University | $80,137 | $22,585 |
| 6 | Emory University-Oxford College | $80,137 | $37,920 |
| 7 | University of Georgia | $68,726 | $13,936 |
| 8 | Galen Health Institutes-Savannah | $61,480 | - |
| 9 | Grady Health System Professional Schools | $60,726 | - |
| 10 | Spelman College | $59,993 | $38,967 |
| 11 | Mercer University | $58,354 | $23,847 |
| 12 | Georgia College & State University | $58,140 | $20,686 |
| 55 | Dalton State CollegeThis school | $40,251 | $5,012 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Dalton State College
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k $3,962
$0 – $30k
$3,962 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k $3,788
$30k – $48k
$3,788 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$6,042 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$10,055 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Dalton State College - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $3,336 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $10,656 |
| Average Net Price | $5,012 |
49.9%
Pell Grant Rate
13.9%
Federal Loan Rate
$12,937
Median Debt
$137/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at Dalton State College swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $4,694 to $11,247 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as -16.3%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$4,694
Highest year
$11,247
Most recent (2023)
$4,694
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $5,6072023 · $4,694
Over the same years, enrollment went -8.9% (4,852 → 4,419 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
59.9%
Female
51.2%
First Generation
Outcomes
70.9%
Retention Rate
$37,491
Median Earnings (6yr)
51.8%
Earning Over $25K
65.6%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 27.6% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 70.9% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $37,491 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $40,251 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 51.8% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 65.6% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $12,937 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $137/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 13 | 420 | $55,191 | $84,253 | $14,520 |
| Associate's | 4 | 197 | $64,026 | $75,311 | $9,000 |
| Certificate | 1 | 37 | $51,094 | $51,094 | $9,007 |
Top programs at Dalton State College by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$84,253 median earnings
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$75,311 median earnings
- Allied Health and Medical …
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
$68,770 median earnings
- Allied Health Diagnostic, …
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
$67,654 median earnings
- Accounting and Related Ser…
Accounting and Related Services
$66,902 median earnings
- Marketing
Marketing
$64,649 median earnings
- Management Information Sys…
Management Information Systems and Services
$63,224 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$60,331 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
Nearby Schools
Dalton Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology
Dalton, GA
47 students
Southern Adventist University
Collegedale, TN
2,773 students
Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN
4,462 students
Academy of Allied Health Careers
Chattanooga, TN
194 students
Pentecostal Theological Seminary
Cleveland, TN
0 Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Matches use Scorecard measures among reporting colleges — not state-system recommendations or geographic proximity.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Public institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
University of Florida-Online
Gainesville, FL
4,627 students · 74 apart
United States Air Force Academy
USAF Academy, CO
4,114 students · 439 apart
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
Fort Smith, AR
4,091 students · 462 apart
University of South Carolina-Upstate
Spartanburg, SC
4,038 students · 515 apart
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Public institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Dalton State College? ▼
Dalton State College is a public institution in Dalton, Georgia. Undergraduate enrollment is 4,553 students.
How much do Dalton State College former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Dalton State College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $40,251 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $37,491.
How much does Dalton State College cost? ▼
The average net price at Dalton State College is $5,012. In-state tuition is $3,336 and out-of-state tuition is $10,656. Median student debt at graduation is $12,937.
What is the graduation rate at Dalton State College? ▼
Dalton State College has a 27.6% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 70.9%.
Is Dalton State College worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Dalton State College is $12,937, while former students earn a median of $40,251 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 32% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 65.6% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $137.
Sources & methodology
Public-college profiles lean on IPEDS enrollment and Scorecard Title-IV outcomes. State appropriations are outside this page; the figures below are the federal cohort measures only.
Every number is read live from the Mar–Jul 2026 Scorecard/IPEDS retrievals. Public institutions often enroll large Title-IV cohorts, so medians can be stable — still cohort averages, never a personal forecast. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Dalton State College
- Compare Dalton State College against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Georgia side by side.Browse Georgia
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Public-college Scorecard figures are historical Title-IV cohort averages — confirm current tuition, aid, and admissions rules with the institution before deciding.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Public-institution profiles compile Scorecard Title-IV earnings, IPEDS enrollment/admissions, and Treasury linkage fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.