-22%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment fell 21% at Tacoma Community College vs the 2018–2022 baseline (4.2k vs 5.4k).
Washington · Public · Predominantly associate's
Tacoma Community College
Tacoma, Washington. 4,248 undergraduate students. 46 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Tacoma Community College
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-15%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Tacoma Community College fell 15% between 2021 and 2024 (37.3% → 31.5%).
+12%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Tacoma Community College rose 12% between 2021 and 2024 ($10.4k → $11.6k).
+12%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Tacoma Community College rose 12% between 2021 and 2024 ($4.9k → $5.5k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Washington
Each tile compares this institution to the Washington median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$47,168+22% · 6→10y
Washington median $47,350$38,790
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry32.8%+49% · '97→'24
Washington median 46.8%$7,718+395% · '97→'20
At program completion4,248-4% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS—+3% · '04→'15
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$4,920+211% · '00→'24
out-of-state $11,030SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.2%Median federal debt $7,718 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $47,168 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+49%
Tacoma Community College · completion · 150% rose
21.1% → 31.5%
+211%
Tacoma Community College · in-state tuition rose
$1,770 → $5,507
+80%
Tacoma Community College · out-of-state tuition rose
$6,454 → $11,646
+395%
Tacoma Community College · median debt rose
$2,625 → $13,000
-100%
Tacoma Community College · cohort default rate fell
16.8% → 0.0%
+31%
Tacoma Community College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$35,900 → $47,168
+34%
Tacoma Community College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$33,200 → $44,369
+32%
Tacoma Community College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$29,400 → $38,790
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$81,839Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$74,687Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$66,174Physical Sciences.$64,564Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications.$53,305Business/Commerce, General.$52,285Legal Support Services.$51,087Accounting and Related Services.$49,320Health and Medical Administrative Services.$44,792Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$42,320Health and Medical Administrative Services.$41,917Accounting and Related Services.$35,125Business Administration, Management and Operations.$32,980
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
13 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$81,839Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$74,687Health and Medical Administrative Services.$41,917Health and Medical Administrative Services.$44,792Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$66,174
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Tacoma Community College
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$49,580
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 25
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $9,903
- HS-only baseline · WA
- $41,200
- Years to complete
- 2
- CIP family
- 24
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Washington
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Tacoma Community College graduates earn $X” — not “Tacoma Community College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Tacoma Community College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.