The College is located in the center of the town of Centralia in the northwest corner of Lewis County and operates an extension center in Morton, near the county's geographic center. The two largest cities, Centralia and Chehalis, have populations of approximately 12,000 and 6,000 respectively. The economy of the region is natural resource based, including forestry and wood products, coal mining and agri-business. The service area is predominantly white and working class.
Unemployment is consistently above the state and national average by several percentage points.
The total people of color population is growing faster than the caucasian population, and ethnic diversity is also increasing. The MCTF represents staff, faculty and management across the campus community. Minority Student Success Retreat is sponsored by the Washington Center for Improving Undergraduate Education, focusing on retention and success of students of color throughout the state and at each institution specifically. During 1993 a team from CC attends the Cultural Pluralism Institute, which leads directly to several new efforts. A faculty group promotes curriculum infusion, which results not only in diversification of content but also specific pedagogical techniques such as ethno-autobiography, as well as wider use of collaboration and classroom assessment.