by our College Data Analytics TeamCatawba Valley Community College is a public institution in Hickory, North Carolina enrolling 2,741 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 35%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,753 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 34%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Catawba Valley Community College ranks #1,753 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 34%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Catawba Valley Community College was awarded 37 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked CVCC as #1,753 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
CVCC also holds the #34 spot on the Best Colleges in North Carolina ranking.
See all of the rankings for Catawba Valley Community College.
Learn more about Catawba Valley Community College admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at CVCC is an impressive 10 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Catawba Valley Community College is 22%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Catawba Valley Community College is 65%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
When it comes to finishing their studies on time, those seeking a bachelor’s degree from CVCC have a four-year graduation rate of 35%. This is comparable to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Catawba Valley Community College.
In the current academic year, there are 2,741 undergraduates at CVCC.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Catawba Valley Community College.
The overall average net price of CVCC is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of CVCC, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Catawba Valley Community College make around $36,977 per year during the early years of their employment. Unfortunately, this is 25% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Catawba Valley Community College make the most money.
Catawba Valley Community College is an public institution situated in Hickory, North Carolina. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Catawba Valley Community College.
Get in touch with Catawba Valley Community College are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 2550 Hwy 70 SE, Hickory, NC 28602-0699 |
| Phone: | 8283277000 |
| Website: | www.cvcc.edu |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 18 majors graduated from Catawba Valley Community College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 1,198 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 476 | $25,381 |
| Precision Metal Working | 121 | NA |
| Electrical & Power Installation | 109 | NA |
| Nursing | 66 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 63 | $32,107 |
| Computer Information Systems | 51 | NA |
| Allied Health Professions | 37 | $45,621 |
| Cosmetology | 23 | NA |
| Electromechanical Engineering | 21 | NA |
4,393 students took at least one online class at Catawba Valley Community College.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Catawba Valley Community College.
Curious how schools stack up against CVCC? Match them up using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.