Whatcom Community College
Public Community College in Bellingham, WA. Six-year graduation rate 36%. Median 10-year earnings $44,092.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,092 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 36% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Median debt at graduation is $10,643, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.24 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.4% — below national benchmark
Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 36% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 16% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The 11:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. With 3,490 undergraduates, the school sits in the middle of the size distribution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,280 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $13,116 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $9,814 at the $0–30k band to $19,441 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 49% of students receive any. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 8% 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 · 357 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 | $9,814 |
| $30–48k | $10,010 |
| $48–75k | $12,411 |
| $75–110k | $17,032 |
| $110k+ | $19,441 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 186 of these 2,280 students, totalling $1,053,588 — an average of $5,664 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Whatcom 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)