Business Administration, Management and Operations at Grays Harbor College

When Washington's business administration bachelor's programs typically show first-year earnings around $49,000 against debt loads hovering near $21,000, Grays Harbor College's estimated figures—$49,004 in earnings and $16,188 in debt—suggest a potentially cleaner outcome than the state norm. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.33 means graduates would theoretically owe about four months of gross pay, a manageable position compared to the national median debt of $26,000 for this credential. The challenge is that these numbers are drawn from comparable programs across Washington, not from tracked outcomes of Grays Harbor's own graduates.

The wide performance spread among Washington business programs—ranging from nearly $80,000 at City University of Seattle down to the mid-$40,000s elsewhere—underscores how much the specific program and student outcomes can vary. Without actual graduate data from Grays Harbor, you're essentially betting on whether this community college program will track closer to the state median or fall below it. The lower estimated debt is encouraging, but the earnings figure needs to materialize for the investment to work.

If your child attends, treat the first job placement as critical validation. The numbers suggest reasonable value if outcomes align with peer programs, but confirm that Grays Harbor offers strong employer connections in your target region—generic business degrees rely heavily on local networks to justify even modest debt loads.