---
title: Lees-McRae College — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Banner Elk, NC
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Lees-McRae College

Banner Elk, NC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $43,415 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $25,563 – $58,373 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $6,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 42% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $49,498 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 64% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.28× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $15,415 | derived |

**42% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $12,000 (≈ 28% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $17,244 to $59,914 across 8 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,914 | $19,339 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,351 | $15,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,325 | $14,050 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,268 | $17,605 |
| Human Services, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,980 | $13,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,560 | not reported |
| Zoology/Animal Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,174 | $23,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,244 | $25,624 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Lees-McRae College by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?198808

---

Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/lees-mcrae-college-nc.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`