Flathead Valley
Community College
Public Community College in Kalispell, MT. Six-year graduation rate 29%. Median 10-year earnings $38,520.
Ten-year median earnings of $38,520 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 29% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,500 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.27 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 29% — below national average
Academics
Only 29% finish within six years, so roughly three in four students leave without the credential. First-year retention is 63% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 15% 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. Retention drops to 44% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,165 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,874 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $6,341 at $0–30k against $12,552 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid reaches 65% of students at an average of $5,499. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 19% of students.
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 · 191 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 | $6,341 |
| $30–48k | $7,484 |
| $48–75k | $9,903 |
| $75–110k | $11,293 |
| $110k+ | $12,552 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 220 of these 1,165 students, totalling $1,272,212 — an average of $5,783 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Flathead 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)