Ground Transportation at Grays Harbor College

A certificate in ground transportation from Grays Harbor College comes with estimated debt of $9,280 and projected first-year earnings around $41,400—figures drawn from national peer programs since this school's graduate cohort is too small for the Department of Education to publish. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.22 suggests manageable repayment, though the reality for this specific program could differ considerably given how much variation exists among the 317 schools offering similar credentials nationally.

What complicates the picture is that Washington's ground transportation programs typically produce lower earnings than the national average—closer to $36,800 according to state median data. If Grays Harbor's outcomes track closer to state norms than national ones, the value proposition weakens. The estimated debt also runs slightly higher than both state and national medians for this credential, though still within a manageable range for entry-level technical work.

For families considering this path, the key question is whether local transportation and logistics employers recognize this particular certificate and what specific jobs it qualifies graduates for. With only one Washington school reporting actual data (showing earnings near the state median), there's limited evidence about how these programs perform in the Pacific Northwest market. If your student already has connections in trucking, warehousing, or transit operations, this could be an affordable entry point—but verify the credential's local reputation before committing.