Is Columbia Gorge Community College Worth It?

Columbia Gorge Community College gives you a middling financial return that lives or dies by your program choice. The median graduate earns about $44,000 a decade out, against a net price near $10,550 a year and typical debt under $20,000. That debt load is manageable, but the 11.9% graduation rate is the real warning sign: most people who enroll here don't finish, and a credential you never complete pays back nothing while you still owe.

Nursing is the clear winner. The associate nursing track leads to roughly $64,500 a year, and graduates carry about the same debt as everyone else, so the payoff is lopsided in your favor. Electrical engineering technology follows at close to $49,600. After that the drop is steep. Business administration lands near $36,800, medical assisting around $34,000, and the general liberal arts associate sits at about $25,800 , below what many jobs in the Gorge pay without any degree. If you enroll in liberal arts as an endpoint instead of a transfer step, expect little financial return.

The specific risk here is completion. With so few students finishing, your bet is on being in the minority who do, ideally in nursing or the technical trades tied to the region's healthcare and utility employers.

On price, the tiers are close for most families. If your family earns under $30,000, you pay roughly $10,270 , barely less than the sticker for middle-income families. Only households over $110,000 see a real jump, to about $16,800. Aid does not meaningfully cut costs for lower incomes here.

This school fits you if you want an affordable path into nursing or a skilled trade and can commit to finishing. Look elsewhere if you're planning a general studies degree with no transfer or licensing goal behind it.