-25%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment fell 25% at Pierce College District vs the 2018–2022 baseline (4.5k vs 6.0k).
Washington · Public · Predominantly associate's
Pierce College District
Lakewood, Washington. 4,487 undergraduate students. 56 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Pierce College District
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
+24%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Pierce College District rose 24% between 2021 and 2024 ($4.4k → $5.4k).
+24%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Pierce College District rose 24% between 2021 and 2024 ($4.8k → $6.0k).
-17%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Pierce College District fell 17% between 2021 and 2024 (6.4k → 5.3k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Washington
Each tile compares this institution to the Washington median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$47,532+21% · 6→10y
Washington median $47,350$39,406
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry31.2%+3% · '97→'24
Washington median 46.8%$8,532+274% · '97→'20
At program completion4,487-45% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS—-7% · '04→'15
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$4,686+203% · '00→'24
out-of-state $5,211SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.4%Median federal debt $8,532 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $47,532 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
-45%
Pierce College District · undergrad enrollment fell
9,580 → 5,313
+203%
Pierce College District · in-state tuition rose
$1,791 → $5,418
+274%
Pierce College District · median debt rose
$3,205 → $12,000
-98%
Pierce College District · cohort default rate fell
12.7% → 0.2%
+96%
Pierce College District · pell share rose
11.6% → 22.6%
+35%
Pierce College District · earnings_median_10yr rose
$35,200 → $47,532
+35%
Pierce College District · earnings_median_8yr rose
$32,900 → $44,552
+37%
Pierce College District · earnings_median_6yr rose
$28,700 → $39,406
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$78,911Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$68,708Business/Commerce, General.$60,524Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications.$58,983Physical Sciences.$57,260Criminal Justice and Corrections.$56,859Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$42,890Health and Medical Administrative Services.$38,702Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$25,309
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
9 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Pierce College District
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$60,182
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 24
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $10,579
- HS-only baseline · WA
- $41,200
- Years to complete
- 2
- CIP family
- 24
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Washington
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Pierce College District graduates earn $X” — not “Pierce College District makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Pierce College District caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.