+50%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Johnston Community College rose 50% between 2016 and 2019 ($6.0k → $9.0k).
North Carolina · Public · Predominantly associate's
Johnston Community College
Smithfield, North Carolina. 2,998 undergraduate students. 50 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Johnston Community College
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.
+29%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Johnston Community College rose 29% between 2021 and 2024 (2.7k → 3.5k).
-30%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Johnston Community College fell 30% between 2006 and 2009 (48.3% → 34.1%).
-9pp
150%-time completion
150%-time completion fell 8 pp at Johnston Community College vs the 2003–2007 baseline (28.8% vs 37.2%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. North Carolina
Each tile compares this institution to the North Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$37,310+11% · 6→10y
North Carolina median $36,030$33,629
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry28.8%-21% · '97→'09
North Carolina median 46.1%$6,045+339% · '97→'19
At program completion2,998+245% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS60.8%+3% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$2,657+168% · '01→'24
out-of-state $8,801SECTION 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
2.2%Median federal debt $6,045 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $37,310 (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.
-21%
Johnston Community College · completion · 150% fell
43.3% → 34.1%
+245%
Johnston Community College · undergrad enrollment rose
1,002 → 3,453
+168%
Johnston Community College · in-state tuition rose
$1,030 → $2,756
+59%
Johnston Community College · out-of-state tuition rose
$5,582 → $8,900
+339%
Johnston Community College · median debt rose
$2,048 → $9,000
-100%
Johnston Community College · cohort default rate fell
7.8% → 0.0%
+29%
Johnston Community College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$28,900 → $37,310
+26%
Johnston Community College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$27,600 → $34,730
+28%
Johnston Community College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$26,200 → $33,629
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.$65,719Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$60,530Ground Transportation.$59,288Legal Support Services.$39,951Legal Support Services.$39,797Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$38,261Business Administration, Management and Operations.$37,497Health and Medical Administrative Services.$36,353Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$34,508Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$26,827
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
10 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
EDUCATION · CIP 13
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
TRANSPORTATION & MATERIALS MOVING · CIP 49
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Johnston Community College
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
$86,625
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 17
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $4,270
- HS-only baseline · NC
- $35,600
- 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 North Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Johnston Community College graduates earn $X” — not “Johnston Community College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Johnston Community College 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.