Mountain Empire Community College
Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Mountain Empire Community College is a public institution in Big Stone Gap, Virginia enrolling 1,282 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.. Graduates earn a median of $32,622 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid data. The average net price after financial aid is $8,852. This profile includes admissions data, graduation rates, program-level earnings, and cost breakdowns to help students compare colleges using official federal data.
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Mountain Empire Community College
Mountain Empire Community College operates as a public institution located in Big Stone Gap, Virginia (town: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 1,282 students of which 2,654 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Mountain Empire Community College is categorized as “6” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.
Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. Admission rate data is not currently reported for this institution. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $8,852, with published in-state tuition of $5,007 and a Pell grant recipient share of 43.4%.
Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. Four-year completion rate data is unavailable, rising to 50.8% at six years. Graduates earn a median of $32,622 ten years after enrolling, compared with $30,368 six years post-enrollment, and 34.3% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.
Quick Facts
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $5,007 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $11,445 |
| Average Net Price | $8,852 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $8,148 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $8,064 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $10,770 |
Student Demographics
Outcomes
Programs & Earnings
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's | 55 | $69,922 | — |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Associate's | 11 | $58,843 | — |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians | Associate's | 9 | $52,159 | — |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Certificate | 66 | $51,574 | — |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions | Certificate | — | $43,939 | — |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Associate's | 14 | $43,752 | — |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Certificate | 189 | $42,992 | — |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's | 119 | $37,452 | — |
| Business Operations Support and Assistant Services | Associate's | 9 | $20,824 | — |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Certificate | 145 | $16,029 | — |
Nearby Schools
Frequently Asked Questions
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Guides & Resources
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How College Scorecard measures outcomes
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Related Colleges
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Related Data Sources
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024-25 academic year. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Primary: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. Data reflects most recent available year.
Institutional characteristics: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) institutional characteristics file.
Earnings: Median earnings 6 and 10 years after enrollment, from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal student aid data.
Program data: Credential-level earnings from the College Scorecard Field of Study dataset.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- NCES IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) — enrollment, completions, finance, faculty for every U.S. college. nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- College Scorecard — U.S. Dept of Education outcomes data — earnings, debt, completion. collegescorecard.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) — K-12 → college transition data. nces.ed.gov/ccd
- NSC StudentTracker — enrollment and completion outcomes by institution. nscresearchcenter.org
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections — occupation outlook by education level. bls.gov/emp
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS — educational attainment + degree population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Earnings data sourced from IRS records via the U.S. Treasury–Department of Education matching used by the College Scorecard.