Public · Community college

Northwest Indian College

Bellingham, Washington · Midsize suburb

#1 best value in Washington
24%
Transfer rate
$3,136
Avg net price
18%
Grad / completion
$35,447
Median earnings

Northwest Indian College is a public associate-granting institution in Bellingham, Washington (midsize suburb setting), enrolling 629 undergraduates. It is a Tribal college. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicSmall · 629 undergradsMidsize suburbIndependentNear the coast

About Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham is a city in and the county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. The Lummi, Nooksack, Samish, and Nuwhaha in particular fished in Bellingham Bay and shared the hunting and gathering grounds in the nearby forests and prairies. The Ski to Sea race is a team relay race made up of seven legs: cross country skiing, downhill skiing (or snowboarding), running, road biking, canoeing (2 person), mountain biking, and kayaking. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize suburb
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
83 miles to Seattle, WA
To the ocean
2 miles
Nearest airport
3 miles to Bellingham (BLI)

How Northwest Indian College compares

Graduation rate18%

Higher than 3% · #57 of 58 in Washington

First-year retention55%

Higher than 15%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$35,447

Higher than 51% · #40 of 51 in Washington

Average net price$3,136

Cheaper than 96% · #1 cheapest of 58 in Washington

Student–faculty ratio14 : 1

Lower than 62%

Undergraduate enrollment629

Larger than 66%

Percentiles compare Northwest Indian 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

629undergrads
  • Women41266%
  • Men21734%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White2.5%
  • Hispanic11%
  • Other or multiracial86%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
629
Student–faculty ratio
14 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
52%
First-generation students
47%
Students over 25
68%
Median family income
$11,799
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$57,798

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

Cost

In-state tuition
$4,365
Room & board
$5,500
Books & supplies
$1,032
Total cost of attendance
$10,551
Average net price
$3,136

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
18%
Graduated on time (4 years)
9%
First-year retention
55%
Transferred to another college
24%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$29,768
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$35,447
Median debt at graduation
Students with federal loans
0%

About 9% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
86
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
14%
Housing charge (year)
$2,700
Meal plan (year)
$2,850
Application fee
Free
Athletics
Independent
Varsity athletes
44 (23 men · 21 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (1)

Basketball44

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 6 campuses (636 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

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

0.7reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
0.3
Burglary
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
$2,630
$30–48k
$2,952
$48–75k
$3,709
$75–110k
$8,610
$110k+

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.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$17,719

$3,709/year × about 4.8 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

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.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$1,817
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 100% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,817. 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 59 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)
$35,447
Typical debt at graduation
Debt vs. one year's pay
Out-earn a HS grad
35%
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
$38,909
Men
$32,369

Women out-earn men by $6,540 (20%) 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
73°F
Winter low
34°F
Annual rain
34.7″
Annual snow
3.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Bellingham Intl AP, WA US station (3.5 mi from campus).

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 Northwest Indian College

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

Colleges near Northwest Indian College

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.