North Seattle College
Public Community College in Seattle, WA. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $47,728.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $47,728 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $15,458. On economic mobility, 2.1% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Academics
Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Transfer-out runs to 29% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. At 18:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. 5,017 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,792 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $12,462 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The income table below is the number that matters — $9,241 at $0–30k versus $18,943 at $110k+. About 63% get grants averaging $6,361, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 4% 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 · 374 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 | $9,241 |
| $30–48k | $9,989 |
| $48–75k | $13,514 |
| $75–110k | $13,526 |
| $110k+ | $18,943 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 108 of these 2,792 students, totalling $698,069 — an average of $6,464 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (King 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)