-8%
Public associate's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at Central Lakes College-Brainerd are 8% below the public associate's-predominant peer median ($42.2k vs $45.7k).
Minnesota · Public · Predominantly associate's
Central Lakes College-Brainerd
Brainerd, Minnesota. 1,486 undergraduate students. 76 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Central Lakes College-Brainerd
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Central Lakes College-Brainerd fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.7% → 0.0%).
+17%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Central Lakes College-Brainerd rose 17% between 2021 and 2024 (58.5% → 68.6%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Minnesota
Each tile compares this institution to the Minnesota median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$42,162+7% · 6→10y
Minnesota median $48,321$39,389
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry47.7%-18% · '99→'09
Minnesota median 54.7%$8,439+315% · '97→'20
At program completion1,486+152% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS64.7%+22% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$6,209+153% · '00→'24
out-of-state $6,209SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.7%Median federal debt $8,439 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $42,162 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+22%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · retention rose
56.0% → 68.6%
+152%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · undergrad enrollment rose
641 → 1,614
+153%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · in-state tuition rose
$2,474 → $6,249
+35%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · out-of-state tuition rose
$4,625 → $6,249
+315%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · median debt rose
$2,650 → $11,000
-100%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · cohort default rate fell
18.9% → 0.0%
-60%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · pell share fell
36.5% → 14.4%
+30%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · earnings_median_10yr rose
$32,400 → $42,162
+27%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · earnings_median_8yr rose
$31,700 → $40,383
+33%
Central Lakes College-Brainerd · earnings_median_6yr rose
$29,700 → $39,389
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$73,046Electromechanical Instrumentation and Maintenance Technologies/Technicians.$70,152Electromechanical Instrumentation and Maintenance Technologies/Technicians.$69,839Ground Transportation.$67,690Precision Metal Working.$64,339Criminal Justice and Corrections.$62,599Precision Metal Working.$59,736Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies.$55,050Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians.$53,559Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$52,189Criminal Justice and Corrections.$49,542Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$45,665Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$39,887Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$39,024Accounting and Related Services.$37,760Business Administration, Management and Operations.$37,314Film/Video and Photographic Arts.$22,888
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
17 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
MECHANIC & REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 47
PRECISION PRODUCTION · CIP 48
TRANSPORTATION & MATERIALS MOVING · CIP 49
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Central Lakes College-Brainerd
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$149,703
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 14
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $12,719
- HS-only baseline · MN
- $39,400
- Years to complete
- 2
- CIP family
- 24
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Minnesota
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Central Lakes College-Brainerd graduates earn $X” — not “Central Lakes College-Brainerd makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Central Lakes College-Brainerd caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.