My list

After Highline College: graduation, pay and debt

Des Moines, Washington · Public · 3,838 undergrads

39% of Highline College students finish within six years, the typical student earns $54,850 ten years after starting and graduates leave with $9,820 in federal loans at the median.

The short answers

$54.9k
median pay 10 years after starting college.
39%
finish within six years.
$9,820
median federal debt at graduation.
35%
of borrowers were paying down their loans three years after leaving.
All the federal numbers

Finishing

Finished within six yearsIPEDS, fall 2023
39%
Men who finished within six yearsIPEDS, students who started in 2017
31%
Women who finished within six yearsIPEDS, students who started in 2017
46%
Students in that six-year groupIPEDS, students who started in 2017
435
Earned a degree or certificate here within eight yearsIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
35%
Still enrolled here after eight yearsIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
33%
Students in that eight-year groupIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
1,192
Transferred to another collegeCollege Scorecard, earlier release
19%

Pay after college

Median pay 6 years after starting collegeCollege Scorecard
$46,764
Median pay 10 years after starting collegeCollege Scorecard, 2022-23
$54,850
Earning more than $25,000 six years after startingCollege Scorecard, earlier release
57%

Pay is for students who got federal aid and are working, counted from the year they started college, whether or not they finished.

Debt and paying it back

Median federal debt, students who graduatedCollege Scorecard, 2024-25
$9,820
Median federal debt, everyone who borrowed (finished or not)College Scorecard, earlier release
$6,113
Median federal debt, students with a Pell GrantCollege Scorecard, earlier release
$7,002
Median federal debt, students without a Pell GrantCollege Scorecard, earlier release
$5,500
Paying down their loans 3 years after leavingCollege Scorecard, 2024-25
35%
Paying down their loans 5 years after leavingCollege Scorecard, earlier release
43%
Paying down their loans 7 years after leavingCollege Scorecard, earlier release
57%

Federal student loans only. Private loans and Parent PLUS loans aren't counted.

Where these numbers come from

Updated Oct 31, 2026Spot a mistake?How we get our numbers