Associate's · Asheville, North Carolina

Is Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Asheville-Buncombe Technical 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 5.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $37,974; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $41,995; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $15,752; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $18k (likely $18k – $23k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $5k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.6 years (likely 4.3–8.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$42k (likely −$69k – −$19k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $41k (likely −$24k – $104k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 45%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in: ≤ 10% / not reported; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20