Business Administration, Management and Operations at Edmonds College

The debt burden here deserves attention: $15,773 for an associate's degree is higher than the national median for business programs ($13,980), though it aligns with what other Washington schools typically charge. When similar programs in Washington suggest first-year earnings around $35,000, that puts graduates at a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.45—manageable but not exactly comfortable for someone just starting their career. The four-year mark looks better at $44,550, but that's still years of waiting for the degree to meaningfully pay off.

What complicates the picture is the wide variation among Washington business programs. Columbia Basin College graduates earn $42,000 early on, while Tacoma Community College sits at just $20,000. Without actual earnings data from Edmonds' own graduates, it's hard to know where this program truly lands on that spectrum. The $35,000 estimate comes from peer programs statewide, but geography, connections, and curriculum all matter in business fields—and those details are obscured when relying on state averages.

For parents weighing this investment, the key question is whether nearly $16,000 in debt makes sense when the payoff is uncertain and potentially modest. If your student has other Washington community colleges within reach, comparing actual outcomes from those programs would provide firmer ground for this decision.