by our College Data Analytics TeamNorthern Essex Community College is a public institution in Haverhill, Massachusetts enrolling 3,685 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 21%, below the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,674 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 32%), 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.
Northern Essex Community College ranks #1,674 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 32%.
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.
Northern Essex Community College was awarded 308 badges in the 2027 rankings.
NECC is ranked #1,674 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, NECC holds the #68 spot on the Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.
See all of the rankings for Northern Essex Community College.
Learn more about Northern Essex Community College admissions.
At Northern Essex Community College, the student to faculty ratio is 19 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.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Northern Essex Community College is 53%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At Northern Essex Community College this rate is 61%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full time students who obtain their bachelor’s degree in four years or less. This rate is 21% for first-time, full-time students at NECC, which is lower than the national rate of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Northern Essex Community College.
In the current academic year, there are 3,685 undergraduates at NECC.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Northern Essex Community College.
The overall average net price of NECC 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,256 | $4,728 | $6,211 | $6,628 | $12,476 |
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 NECC, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At NECC, approximately 10% of students took out student loans averaging $4,122 a year. That adds up to $16,488 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 13.9%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Northern Essex Community College.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Northern Essex Community College make around $42,862 per year during the early years of their employment. Unfortunately, this is 13% 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 Northern Essex Community College make the most money.
Northern Essex Community College is a public institution situated in Haverhill, Massachusetts. NECC is located in a safe and convenient suburb. Get more details about the location of Northern Essex Community College.
Contact details for Northern Essex Community College can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 100 Elliott Street, Haverhill, MA 01830-2399 |
| Phone: | 9785563000 |
| Website: | www.necc.mass.edu/ |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 17 majors graduated from Northern Essex 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 | 646 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 109 | $27,445 |
| Business & Commerce | 72 | NA |
| Mental & Social Health Services | 57 | $32,036 |
| Computer Information Systems | 38 | $41,228 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 29 | $36,616 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 27 | NA |
| Electromechanical Engineering | 27 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 27 | $37,962 |
| Allied Health Professions | 25 | $50,816 |
2,543 students took at least one online class at Northern Essex 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 Northern Essex Community College.
Curious how schools stack up against NECC? Match them up using 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.