Public · Community college

Bates Technical College

Tacoma, Washington · Midsize city

8%
Transfer rate: $6,292
Avg net price: 43%
Grad / completion: $50,051
Median earnings

Bates Technical College is a public certificate-granting institution in Tacoma, Washington (midsize city setting), enrolling 1,813 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 1,813 undergradsMidsize cityNear the coast

About Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. In 1852, Swedish immigrant Nicolas Delin built a water-powered sawmill on a creek near the head of Commencement Bay, but the small settlement that grew around it was abandoned during the Indian War of 1855–56. Tacoma adopted a percent for art ordinance in 1975, allocating one percent of construction costs from major public projects to public art. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Midsize city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 25 miles to Seattle, WA
To the ocean: 1 mile
Nearest airport: 6 miles to Tacoma Narrows (TIW)

How Bates Technical College compares

#55 · Community Colleges with the Highest Graduate Earnings

Graduation rate43%

Higher than 30% · #24 of 58 in Washington

Earnings, 10 years after entry$50,051

Higher than 90% · #9 of 51 in Washington

Average net price$6,292

Cheaper than 85% · #7 cheapest of 58 in Washington

Student–faculty ratio21 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment1,813

Larger than 80%

Percentiles compare Bates Technical College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Washington.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women70439%
Men1,10961%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White35%
Black11%
Hispanic19%
Asian4.9%
Other or multiracial29%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,813
Student–faculty ratio: 21 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 12%
First-generation students: 49%
Students over 25: 64%
Median family income: $14,702
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $72,450
Endowment: $3,975,056

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 546 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Washington95%
Other U.S. states4.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Bates Technical College draws overwhelmingly from Washington.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition: $6,027
Out-of-state tuition: $12,165
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $528
Total cost of attendance: $18,837
Average net price: $6,292

Outcomes

Graduated: 43%
First-year retention: —
Transferred to another college: 8%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $45,569
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $50,051
Median debt at graduation: —
Students with federal loans: 3%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 41%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 2.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 2
Property offenses (2022–2024): 23

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

8.3reported offenses a year

0.7 violent a year7.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

4.0

Motor vehicle theft

3.3

Robbery

0.7

Arson

0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$4,403

$30–48k

$7,013

$48–75k

$7,371

$75–110k

$12,978

$110k+

$17,404

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

17%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,427

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 17% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,427. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 236 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $50,051
Typical debt at graduation: —
Debt vs. one year's pay: —
Out-earn a HS grad: 51%

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$45,962

Men

$53,492

Men out-earn women by $7,530 (16%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 77°F
Winter low: 37°F
Annual rain: 40.8″
Annual snow: 5.6″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Tacoma #1, WA US station (1.7 mi from campus).

What Bates Technical College graduates study — and earn

Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied ProfessionsCert.

132 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

132———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

107 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

107———Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsCert.

68 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

68———Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.

61 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

61———Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

58 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

58———Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsAssoc.

58 grads— 1 yr$70k 5 yr— debt

58—$70,437—Fire ProtectionAssoc.

37 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

37———Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and MethodsAssoc.

31 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

31———Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

29 grads— 1 yr$46k 5 yr— debt

29—$45,721—Precision Metal WorkingAssoc.

27 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

27———Fire ProtectionCert.

24 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

24———Precision Metal WorkingCert.

21 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

21———

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Bates Technical College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Bates Technical College side by side →

Bellingham Technical College

Public

Bellingham, Washington · Small city · 81 mi to Seattle

Students: 1,733
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 17%
Earnings: $50k

Lake Washington Institute of Technology

Public

Kirkland, Washington · Large suburb · 10 mi to Seattle

Students: 2,406
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $51k

Renton Technical College

Public

Renton, Washington · Midsize city · 11 mi to Seattle

Students: 1,783
Tuition: $6k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $50k

South Seattle College

Public

Seattle, Washington · Large city · 4 mi to Seattle

Students: 1,616
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $44k

Shoreline College

Public

Shoreline, Washington · Large suburb · 10 mi to Seattle

Students: 3,046
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 15%
Earnings: $52k

Skagit Valley College

Public

Mount Vernon, Washington · Small city · 57 mi to Seattle

Students: 2,477
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 12%
Earnings: $44k

Colleges near Bates Technical College

Northwest College of Art & Design

Tacoma, WA · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 139 students

< 1 mi

University of Washington-Tacoma Campus

Tacoma, WA · Public · Bachelor's · 4,185 students

1 mi

University of Puget Sound

Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,594 students

2 mi

Summit Salon Academy

Tacoma, WA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 138 students

2 mi

Tacoma Community College

Tacoma, WA · Public · Associate · 4,668 students

4 mi

Faith International University

Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 276 students

4 mi

UEI College-Tacoma

Tacoma, WA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 689 students

4 mi

Clover Park Technical College

Lakewood, WA · Public · Certificate · 2,636 students

6 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.