Is Jones County Junior College Worth It?

Jones County Junior College gives you a low-cost path with a payoff that depends almost entirely on your program choice. With debt around $6,300 and a two-year structure, you avoid the deep financial holes that sink four-year students, but the median earnings a decade out sit near what many jobs pay without any degree at all. The 36% graduation rate is the first risk: if you leave without finishing, you carry cost and lost time with nothing to show for it.

Nursing is the clear winner here. The associate nursing program pays roughly $50,000 ten years out, about $16,000 more than the school's median and enough to clear your debt fast. Electrical engineering technology and the electrical power transmission track also land you in real trade wages tied to Mississippi's utility and industrial jobs. If you enroll in nursing or an electrical field and finish, the math works strongly in your favor.

The weaker end is the general path. The allied health and ground transportation programs pay in the low $30,000s, barely above the school median, so those credentials buy you a job but not much of a raise. If you attend without a specific high-earning program in mind, expect the median outcome, which is thin.

On price, families earning under $48,000 pay the least, around $7,650, and the low debt keeps that manageable. But the cost climbs steadily with income: over $110,000, you pay nearly double what the lowest earners do. That upper tier gets a weaker deal here unless you target nursing.

This school fits you if you want a nursing or electrical credential close to home and plan to finish. Look elsewhere if you want an open-ended two years without a clear program, since the median earnings do not justify that bet.