How much does Northwest Shoals Community College cost?

At Northwest Shoals Community College, the average net price (after aid) is about $2,838 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.

How many undergraduates attend Northwest Shoals Community College?

Northwest Shoals Community College enrolls approximately 1,969 undergraduate students.

Where is Northwest Shoals Community College located?

Northwest Shoals Community College is located in Muscle Shoals, AL.

Northwest Shoals Community College: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Cost — QuantAdmit

← All schools

Northwest Shoals Community College

Muscle Shoals, ALpublicnwscc.edu

Avg net price

$2,838

Earnings (10 yr)

$33,828

Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.

Northwest Shoals Community College (NWSCC) is a public community college in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, offering over 100 certificate and degree programs. With an open-door admissions policy and 100% acceptance rate, NWSCC serves over 5,000 students, providing affordable education and robust student life opportunities. The college emphasizes workforce training and university transfer programs, with graduation rates closely aligned with Alabama's community college averages.

More details

Undergrad enrollment: 1,969
In-state tuition: $5,131
Out-of-state tuition: $9,001
Location: Muscle Shoals, AL
Acceptance Rate: 100%
Graduation Rate: 44%
Notable Programs: Nursing, EMT, Electrician, General Studies
Enrollment (2024): 4,665 (5,000+ credit students in fall 2024)
Student-Teacher Ratio: 39:1
Median Debt at Graduation: $5,500

Outcomes & value

Median earnings (10 yr): $33,828
Value (earnings ÷ net price): 11.9×
Median debt at graduation: $10,000
Reducing loan balance (3 yr): 36%
Pell (lower-income) share: 87%
First-generation share: 51%
Endowment / student: $1,077

Earnings = median of students working ~10 years after entry; debt = median of graduates. Value divides 10-yr earnings by one year’s net price — read it as earnings per dollar of annual cost, not a full lifetime ROI; it favors lower-cost schools. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~2 years and reflect all students, not your intended major.

Campus & location

Campus safety

On-campus violent crimes (2024): 0
Per 1,000 students: 0.00

On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.

Climate

Pleasant days / yr: 94
Summer high: 88°F
Winter low: 38°F
Annual rain: 53.7"
Annual snow: 2.2"
Natural-hazard risk: Relatively Low

Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.

Deep dive — research, future-scholar output & economic mobility

Research output

Institutional h-index: 41
Scholarly works: 153

Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.

Economic mobility

Mobility rate: 1.8%
Bottom → top quintile: 9%
From bottom quintile: 20%

Mobility rate = the share of students who both start in the bottom household-income quintile and reach the top quintile; bottom → top is that chance conditional on starting at the bottom. Source: Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner & Yagan). Reflects 1980–82 birth cohorts, so it’s directional, not current.

Quick answers

How much does Northwest Shoals Community College cost?: At Northwest Shoals Community College, the average net price (after aid) is about $2,838 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.
How many undergraduates attend Northwest Shoals Community College?: Northwest Shoals Community College enrolls approximately 1,969 undergraduate students.
Where is Northwest Shoals Community College located?: Northwest Shoals Community College is located in Muscle Shoals, AL.

Admissions

Northwest Shoals Community College has an open-door admission policy, accepting all U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens without selective criteria ([7](https://catalog.nwscc.edu/general-information/admission-process)). The is 100%, with no SAT/ACT requirements reported ([8](https://www.petersons.com/college-search/northwest-shoals-community-college-000_10002660.aspx), [9](https://www.niche.com/colleges/northwest-shoals-community-college/), [10](https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/colleges/northwest-shoals-community-college), [11](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school?101736-Northwest-Shoals-Community-College&fos_code=5138&fos_credential=2)). Enrollment reached a record 5,000+ credit students in fall 2024, surpassing the previous 1992 record of 4,943 ([1](https://nwscc.edu/northwest-shoals-sets-all-time-enrollment-record/)). Total enrollment in 2024 was 4,665 students, with 920 attending full-time ([4](https://datausa.io/profile/university/northwest-shoals-community-college), [5](https://www.communitycollegereview.com/northwest-shoals-community-college-profile)). The admissions process includes placement testing if needed ([3](https://nwscc.edu/admissions/)).