by our College Data Analytics TeamMountain Empire Community College is a public institution in Big Stone Gap, Virginia enrolling 1,282 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 48%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,626 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 51%), 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.
Mountain Empire Community College ranks #2,626 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 51%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Mountain Empire Community College was awarded 2 badges in the 2027 rankings.
MECC, Mountain Empire is ranked #2,626 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, MECC, Mountain Empire holds the #66 spot on the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking.
See all of the rankings for Mountain Empire Community College.
Learn more about Mountain Empire Community College admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Mountain Empire Community College is 22 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.
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 Mountain Empire Community College is 24%. 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 Mountain Empire Community College is 64%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at MECC, Mountain Empire for first-time, full-time students is 48%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Mountain Empire Community College.
The current enrollment includes 1,282 undergraduates at MECC, Mountain Empire.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Mountain Empire Community College.
The typical net cost at MECC, Mountain Empire 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 MECC, Mountain Empire, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Mountain Empire Community College make about $32,622 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. Unfortunately, this is 34% 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 Mountain Empire Community College make the most money.
Mountain Empire Community College is a public institution situated in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The surrounding location of Big Stone Gap is ideal for students who enjoy the charms of a college town. Get more details about the location of Mountain Empire Community College.
Contact details for Mountain Empire Community College can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 3441 Mountain Empire Road, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 |
| Phone: | 2765232400 |
| Website: | www.mecc.edu |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 16 majors graduated from Mountain Empire 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 | 900 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 243 | NA |
| Allied Health Professions | 118 | $39,541 |
| Environmental Control Technology | 75 | NA |
| Precision Metal Working | 55 | NA |
| Heating, Ventilation, Air & Cooling | 43 | NA |
| Electronics Engineering | 40 | NA |
| Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 37 | NA |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 33 | $30,449 |
| Nursing | 30 | $49,999 |
1,612 students took at least one online class at Mountain Empire Community 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 Mountain Empire Community College.
Interested in comparing MECC, Mountain Empire? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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.