Associate's · Chanute, Kansas

Is Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Neosho County Community College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $34,868; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $45,780; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $9,100; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $19k (likely $19k – $22k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in KS; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.5 years (likely 3.8–8.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$27k (likely −$66k – $17k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $97k (likely −$802 – $202k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 44%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26