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College Ledger

Statement · Watertown, SD

Lake Area Technical College

Public2-year · Associate's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid $11,193 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $19,637.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $45,473 ten years after entering, the 88th percentile among public 2-years.

  3. 73% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Enrollment, 2023
2,655

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $19,637 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between $11,193 and $18,230 a year depending on income at Lake Area Technical College.

Statement of cost · Lake Area Technical College

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$19,637
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
$11,193
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$15,979
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$6,718

Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.

Net price by family income

Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.

Yearly net price by family income, in dollars

under $30k: $11,193; $30–48k: $12,971; $48–75k: $14,129; $75–110k: $18,118; over $110k: $18,230. Shaded band: middle half of public 2-years, from $5,297 to $10,706; dotted line at the median, $7,702.
  • Shaded: the middle half of public 2-years (all incomes), $5,297 to $10,706. Dotted line: the median, $7,702.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k$11,193
$30k–$48k$12,971
$48k–$75k$14,129
$75k–$110k$18,118
Over $110k$18,230

College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $45,473; the median graduate who borrowed owes $12,000.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$43,659
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$45,724
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
88th percentile among public 2-years
$45,473
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
78th percentile among public 2-years
$12,000
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$9,888

Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.

Earnings after entry

The shaded band is the middle half of public 2-years at 10 years: $35,069 to $42,382.

6 yrs after entry: $43,659; 8 yrs after entry: $45,724; 10 yrs after entry: $45,473. Median graduate debt: $12,000. Shaded band: middle half of public 2-years at 10 years, from $35,069 to $42,382; dotted line at the median, $38,550.
  • Shaded: middle half of public 2-years, 10 years out ($35,069 to $42,382); dotted line is the median.
  • Dashed: median graduate debt, $12,000.

Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Earnings after entry and graduate debt
MeasureDollars
Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry$43,659
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$45,724
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$45,473
Median graduate debt$12,000

College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records

What programs pay

Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.

What programs pay at Lake Area Technical College
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree133$54,641$12,000
Agricultural Business and ManagementAssociate's Degree104$47,845$12,000
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma90$49,276$17,600
MarketingAssociate's Degree62$39,495$14,250
Precision Metal WorkingUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma48not reportednot reported
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree46not reported$26,212
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesAssociate's Degree40$44,181$14,510
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma35not reportednot reported
Computer ScienceAssociate's Degree31not reported$12,458
Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma28$25,629$12,000
Electromechanical Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree27not reported$13,125
Precision Metal WorkingAssociate's Degree27$52,342$11,001
Show all 22 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Finance and Financial Management ServicesAssociate's Degree27$39,173$17,374
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma25not reportednot reported
Construction Engineering Technology/TechnicianAssociate's Degree23$65,335$12,000
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree20not reportednot reported
Human Services, GeneralAssociate's Degree20$31,016$12,000
Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and InspectionAssociate's Degree20not reported$12,000
Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma20$40,772$8,250
Human Services, GeneralUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma19not reportednot reported
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsAssociate's Degree14not reported$12,000
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied ProfessionsAssociate's Degree7not reportednot reported

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

Lake Area Technical College: 1,812 undergraduates; 27% of students receive Pell grants; no admission rate is reported (common at open-admission schools).

Admission rate

No admission rate reported (common at open-admission schools)

Undergraduates

1,812

45th percentile among public 2-years

Pell share

27%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

41st percentile among public 2-years

Completion

73%

finish within 150% of normal time

95th percentile among public 2-years

First-generation

29%

parents did not attend college

Median family income

$50,805

99th percentile among public 2-years

Students by family income

Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.

  • Under $30k21%
  • $30k–$48k15%
  • $48k–$75k24%
  • $75k–$110knot reported
  • Over $110knot reported
Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30k21%
$30k–$48k15%
$48k–$75k24%
$75k–$110knot reported
Over $110knot reported

Similar schools

These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.

Sources & caveats

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.

not reported
Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
Percentiles
A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
Earnings
Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
  • U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
  • Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
  • Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.