10-yr median earnings
$39,018
Federal aid recipients only
Public · La Junta, Colorado
Otero College
Otero College is a public institution in La Junta, Colorado. 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.
- $11,103
- Avg net price / yr
- $39,018
- 10-yr median earnings
- 37.4%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Otero College posts modest former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 44th pct.
- former-student earnings, US
- 37.4%
- 150%-time completion
- +14%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
Town: Remote
Carnegie: Associate's
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Otero 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 ("Associate's Colleges: High Career & Technical-Mixed Traditional/Nontraditional"), 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
D
College Value Score
49/100
Otero 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
$39,018
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price B
$11,103
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
37.4%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt B
$10,250
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment F
50.8%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention N/A
N/A
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
$11,103
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
37.4%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 37.4%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Otero 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 Otero 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.
Otero College: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$39,018 44th percentile higher than 44% 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 | Otero College | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $39,018 | #2855 of 5103 | 44th |
| Average net price | $11,103 | #1331 of 5020 | 73rd (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 37.4% | #3815 of 4858 | 21st |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 619 | #2653 of 5462 | 51st |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
619
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
37.4%
150%-time completion
$39,018
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
How Otero College ranks in Colorado
State rank among 69 reporting Colorado colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Otero College | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $39,018 | #44 of 69 | 36th |
| Average net price | $11,103 | #14 of 69 | 80th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 37.4% | #52 of 65 | 20th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 619 | #41 of 75 | 45th |
Highest former-student earnings in Colorado
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado School of Mines | $97,335 | $28,690 |
| 2 | Denver College of Nursing | $81,809 | - |
| 3 | Colorado State University Global | $76,813 | $16,510 |
| 4 | Regis University | $72,105 | $18,397 |
| 5 | University of Denver | $71,155 | $36,131 |
| 6 | University of Colorado Boulder | $69,738 | $25,346 |
| 7 | Colorado College | $65,222 | $33,375 |
| 8 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | $64,270 | $11,900 |
| 9 | Galen Health Institutes-Aurora | $61,480 | - |
| 10 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | $60,543 | $21,279 |
| 11 | Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology | $59,093 | $30,065 |
| 12 | Colorado State University Pueblo | $55,563 | $10,051 |
| 44 | Otero CollegeThis school | $39,018 | $11,103 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Otero College
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$9,735 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$10,817 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$11,499 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$16,207 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Otero College - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $4,576 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $7,286 |
| Average Net Price | $11,103 |
38.2%
Pell Grant Rate
16.9%
Federal Loan Rate
$10,250
Median Debt
$109/mo
Monthly Payment
2013–2023: what Otero College costs has stayed close to flat
Average net price moved +6.2% over 10 years, from $10,667 to $11,329 in nominal dollars. The median college measured over the same span moved +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $10,6672023 · $11,329
Over the same years, enrollment went -36.5% (1,011 → 642 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
48.5%
Female
51.0%
First Generation
Outcomes
$34,087
Median Earnings (6yr)
49.9%
Earning Over $25K
50.8%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 37.4% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $34,087 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $39,018 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 49.9% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 50.8% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $10,250 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $109/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate | 2 | 67 | $42,392 | $42,392 | - |
| Associate's | 2 | 180 | $39,296 | $39,296 | $13,109 |
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Certificate | 33 | $42,392 | - |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's | 100 | $39,296 | $8,625 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's | 80 | - | $17,592 |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Certificate | 34 | - | - |
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.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Public institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Otero College? ▼
Otero College is a public institution in La Junta, Colorado. Undergraduate enrollment is 619 students.
How much do Otero College former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Otero College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $39,018 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $34,087.
How much does Otero College cost? ▼
The average net price at Otero College is $11,103. In-state tuition is $4,576 and out-of-state tuition is $7,286. Median student debt at graduation is $10,250.
What is the graduation rate at Otero College? ▼
Otero College has a 37.4% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Is Otero College worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Otero College is $10,250, while former students earn a median of $39,018 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 26% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 50.8% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $109.
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 Otero College
- Compare Otero College against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Colorado side by side.Browse Colorado
- 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.