by our College Data Analytics TeamHoward College is a public institution in Big Spring, Texas enrolling 1,611 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 35%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,225 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 43%), 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.
Howard College ranks #2,225 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 43%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Howard College was awarded 79 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Howard County Junior College is ranked #2,225 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
Within the state, Howard County Junior College holds the #116 spot on the Best Colleges in Texas ranking.
See all of the rankings for Howard College.
Learn more about Howard College admissions.
At Howard College, the student to faculty ratio is 25 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Howard College is 100%. This is higher 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 Howard College is 71%, 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 Howard County Junior College 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 Howard College.
In the current academic year, there are 1,611 undergraduates at Howard County Junior College.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Howard College.
The typical net cost at Howard County Junior College is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $4,301 | $6,056 | $7,068 | $9,934 | $12,329 |
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 Howard County Junior College, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Howard County Junior College, approximately 9% of students took out student loans averaging $5,912 a year. That adds up to $23,648 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 22.8%. This is significantly higher than the national default rate of 10.1%, which means you could have trouble paying back your student loans if you take any out. Get more details about paying for Howard College.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Howard College make around $38,382 per year during the early years of their employment. This is about 22% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.
See which majors at Howard College make the most money.
Howard College is an public institution found in Big Spring, Texas. Big Spring is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Howard College.
Get in touch with Howard College can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1001 Birdwell Lane, Big Spring, TX 79720 |
| Phone: | 4322645000 |
| Website: | www.howardcollege.edu |
In the latest year of available data, students from 19 majors graduated from Howard 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 | 695 | NA |
| Business & Commerce | 92 | $25,365 |
| Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 70 | $40,962 |
| Nursing | 64 | $60,762 |
| Cosmetology | 60 | $21,303 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 56 | NA |
| Health Sciences & Services | 52 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 48 | $26,211 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 32 | NA |
| Allied Health Professions | 31 | $47,532 |
2,113 students took at least one online class at Howard College.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Howard College.
Curious how schools stack up against Howard County Junior College? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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.