Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Michigan > Bay City
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Bay City offer fully online programs and report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024); 5 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Coast Guard Station Tawas, about 51 miles away, and 7 installations sit within 100 miles (2 Army, 1 Air Force, 2 Coast Guard, 1 National Guard, 1 Other). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is Kettering University in Flint, MI, about 41 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Bay City has a population of about 32,445 and a median household income of $47,904; 18.2 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Military-friendly online colleges near Bay City
Schools based in Michigan that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Bay City city center, with BOC Score on each card. The tags on each card are the school’s own IPEDS answers for the four military services. The distance table further down covers the nearest qualifying schools regardless of state line.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Bay City.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
51%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$51,955
Avg net price
$10,775/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 76%
- Programs offered: 76
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
67%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$63,075
Avg net price
$27,232/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 79%
- Programs offered: 25
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
50%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$53,230
Avg net price
$7,007/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 77%
- Programs offered: 80
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
72%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$94,823
Avg net price
$34,660/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 93%
- Programs offered: 21
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
82%
Graduation rate
33%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$35,833
Avg net price
$13,157/yr
TuitionIn‑state$13,000
Out‑of‑state$13,000
Key stats
- Retention rate: 69%
- Programs offered: 37
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
90%
Graduation rate
60%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$55,874
Avg net price
$17,597/yr
TuitionIn‑state$14,760
Out‑of‑state$14,760
Key stats
- Retention rate: 75%
- Programs offered: 183
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
68%
Graduation rate
41%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$54,186
Avg net price
$22,143/yr
TuitionIn‑state$26,102
Out‑of‑state$26,102
Key stats
- Retention rate: 65%
- Programs offered: 8
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
61%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$58,612
Avg net price
$9,120/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 77%
- Programs offered: 133
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
68%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$72,081
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
60%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$54,735
Avg net price
$8,624/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 75%
- Programs offered: 126
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Nearest qualifying schools within 100 miles (any state)
| School |
Location |
Credit for military training |
Dedicated military contact |
DoD MOU member |
Student veteran org |
BOC Score |
Distance |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor |
Ann Arbor, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
93.4 |
91 mi |
| Walsh College |
Troy, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
80.8 |
80 mi |
| University of Detroit Mercy |
Detroit, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
77.6 |
90 mi |
| Kettering University |
Flint, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
73.6 |
41 mi |
| University of Michigan-Dearborn |
Dearborn, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
71.4 |
94 mi |
| Calvin University |
Grand Rapids, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
71.1 |
97 mi |
| Oakland University |
Rochester Hills, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
69.0 |
72 mi |
| Sacred Heart Major Seminary |
Detroit, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
68.6 |
93 mi |
| Ferris State University |
Big Rapids, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
64.7 |
80 mi |
| Wayne State University |
Detroit, MI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
64.4 |
95 mi |
Michigan has 53 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Michigan page lists them all.
Military installations near Bay City
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) |
Branch (from the name) |
Distance from Bay City |
| Coast Guard Station Tawas |
Coast Guard |
51 mi |
| National Guard Lansing Headquarters Complx |
National Guard |
66 mi |
| Camp Grayling |
Army |
82 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Port Huron |
Coast Guard |
84 mi |
| Selfridge Air National Guard Base |
Air Force |
86 mi |
| Selfridge Army Garrison |
Army |
86 mi |
| Detroit Arsenal |
Other |
87 mi |
Common post-service careers near Bay City
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Bay City, MI metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
| Information Security Analysts |
$106,230 |
MI statewide |
$115,593 |
| Logisticians |
$58,800 |
Bay City, MI metro |
$63,983 |
| Emergency Management Directors |
$87,880 |
MI statewide |
$95,626 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$71,020 |
Bay City, MI metro |
$77,280 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$101,050 |
Bay City, MI metro |
$109,956 |
| Project Management Specialists |
$94,170 |
Bay City, MI metro |
$102,470 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$78,020 |
Bay City, MI metro |
$84,897 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$83,950 |
Bay City, MI metro |
$91,349 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Campuses within 30 miles of Bay City
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Bay City; the nearest is Kettering University at 41 miles.
Nearby cities
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
