Columbia Gorge
Community College
Public Community College in The Dalles, OR. Six-year graduation rate 29%. Median 10-year earnings $44,440.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,440 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 29% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $19,397, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 29% — below national average
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 29% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Just 52% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. A 16% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The part-time picture is harder: 33% return, against 52% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 515 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $11,778 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $10,398 at $0–30k against $16,778 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 68% of students at an average of $6,550. Only 19% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 89 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $10,398 |
| $30–48k | $11,488 |
| $48–75k | $11,328 |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | $16,778 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 98 of these 515 students, totalling $648,351 — an average of $6,616 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wasco County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)