Best value colleges in Washington
Every Washington college we have data for, ranked by 10-year return on investment.
Top colleges in Washington
Showing the top 71 of 100 by ROI — sort the table, or use the finder to filter all Washington colleges by cost, earnings and major.
| # | College | Type | 5-yr earnings | Net price | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | DR Rating | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bellingham Technical College Bellingham, WA | Public | $67,066 | $5,997 | $17,459 | +627% | Strong return | |
| 2 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA | Public | $82,259 | $12,319 | $14,615 | +582% | Strong return | |
| 3 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | Public | $75,229 | $10,163 | $14,615 | +558% | Strong return | |
| 4 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Public | $82,775 | $14,091 | $14,615 | +512% | Strong return | |
| 5 | Columbia Basin College Pasco, WA | Public | $67,064 | $8,317 | $14,829 | +471% | Strong return | |
| 6 | Bates Technical College Tacoma, WA | Public | $58,079 | $6,292 | — | +420% | Strong return | |
| 7 | Grays Harbor College Aberdeen, WA | Public | $56,990 | $4,783 | $11,075 | +418% | Strong return | |
| 8 | Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, WA | Public | $59,351 | $6,817 | $15,047 | +338% | Strong return | |
| 9 | Washington State University Pullman, WA | Public | $70,386 | $14,971 | $19,500 | +279% | Strong return | |
| 10 | Seattle Central College Seattle, WA | Public | $58,684 | $8,819 | $12,000 | +245% | Strong return | |
| 11 | Centralia College Centralia, WA | Public | $58,035 | $9,862 | — | +230% | Strong return | |
| 12 | Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA | Private | $79,644 | $24,488 | $24,000 | +225% | Strong return | |
| 13 | Cascadia College Bothell, WA | Public | $61,253 | $12,281 | $6,368 | +216% | Strong return | |
| 14 | Bellevue College Bellevue, WA | Public | $60,546 | $11,430 | $12,375 | +210% | Strong return | |
| 15 | Walla Walla University College Place, WA | Private | $75,014 | $23,329 | $26,842 | +191% | Strong return | |
| 16 | Skagit Valley College Mount Vernon, WA | Public | $53,223 | $6,064 | $13,805 | +181% | Strong return | |
| 17 | Heritage University Toppenish, WA | Private | $62,824 | $14,598 | $14,573 | +180% | Strong return | |
| 18 | Pierce College District Lakewood, WA | Public | $57,060 | $10,222 | $12,000 | +167% | Strong return | |
| 19 | Divers Institute of Technology Seattle, WA | For-profit | $55,378 | $39,337 | $9,500 | +143% | Strong return | |
| 20 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA | Public | $59,562 | $13,886 | $19,500 | +132% | Strong return | |
| 21 | Edmonds College Lynnwood, WA | Public | $56,153 | $11,010 | $11,855 | +131% | Strong return | |
| 22 | DigiPen Institute of Technology Redmond, WA | For-profit | $86,955 | $44,446 | $27,000 | +124% | Strong return | |
| 23 | Highline College Des Moines, WA | Public | $53,962 | $9,879 | $9,500 | +109% | Strong return | |
| 24 | Seattle University Seattle, WA | Private | $74,891 | $34,662 | $19,883 | +105% | Strong return | |
| 25 | South Puget Sound Community College Olympia, WA | Public | $53,192 | $9,132 | $11,000 | +102% | Strong return | |
| 26 | Northwest University Kirkland, WA | Private | $64,477 | $22,288 | $20,891 | +101% | Strong return | |
| 27 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA | Private | $74,248 | $35,119 | $24,454 | +96% | Strong return | |
| 28 | Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA | Public | $60,029 | $18,476 | $19,500 | +86% | Strong return | |
| 29 | Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA | Private | $60,568 | $19,589 | $22,578 | +80% | Strong return | |
| 30 | North Seattle College Seattle, WA | Public | $53,654 | $10,740 | $15,458 | +78% | Strong return | |
| 31 | Peninsula College Port Angeles, WA | Public | $52,607 | $9,246 | $15,786 | +78% | Strong return | |
| 32 | Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA | Private | $65,382 | $28,119 | $22,500 | +69% | Strong return | |
| 33 | Tacoma Community College Tacoma, WA | Public | $51,087 | $8,376 | $13,000 | +59% | Break-even | |
| 34 | Shoreline College Shoreline, WA | Public | $50,485 | $8,585 | $12,021 | +42% | Break-even | |
| 35 | The Evergreen State College Olympia, WA | Public | $59,377 | $24,319 | $20,500 | +37% | Break-even | |
| 36 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA | Private | $65,403 | $38,394 | $25,000 | +25% | Break-even | |
| 37 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA | Public | $56,069 | $21,193 | $18,500 | +21% | Break-even | |
| 38 | Northwest University-Center for Online and Extended Education Kirkland, WA | Private | $62,384 | $35,671 | $20,891 | +16% | Break-even | |
| 39 | Whitworth University Spokane, WA | Private | $56,384 | $26,534 | $25,000 | -1% | Poor return | |
| 40 | Clark College Vancouver, WA | Public | $49,481 | $11,465 | $10,881 | -10% | Poor return | |
| 41 | Whitman College Walla Walla, WA | Private | $57,444 | $33,313 | $18,437 | -11% | Poor return | |
| 42 | Everett Community College Everett, WA | Public | $48,995 | $10,684 | $10,417 | -14% | Poor return | |
| 43 | Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla, WA | Public | $48,398 | $9,406 | $14,000 | -21% | Poor return | |
| 44 | Perry Technical Institute Yakima, WA | Private | $47,070 | $20,047 | $14,139 | -54% | Poor return | |
| 45 | Spokane Falls Community College Spokane, WA | Public | $45,874 | $7,409 | $12,000 | -74% | Poor return | |
| 46 | Big Bend Community College Moses Lake, WA | Public | $45,789 | $12,210 | $9,166 | -85% | Poor return | |
| 47 | Faith International University Tacoma, WA | Private | $45,988 | $22,662 | $17,650 | -90% | Poor return | |
| 48 | Clover Park Technical College Lakewood, WA | Public | $45,391 | $9,864 | $12,112 | -91% | Poor return | |
| 49 | Green River College Auburn, WA | Public | $44,318 | $13,803 | $11,891 | -112% | Poor return | |
| 50 | Spokane Community College Spokane, WA | Public | $44,591 | $5,473 | $13,501 | -115% | Poor return | |
| 51 | Olympic College Bremerton, WA | Public | $43,855 | $7,172 | $12,000 | -135% | Poor return | |
| 52 | Yakima Valley College Yakima, WA | Public | $42,359 | $11,843 | $13,966 | -150% | Poor return | |
| 53 | Whatcom Community College Bellingham, WA | Public | $41,479 | $11,795 | $10,643 | -169% | Poor return | |
| 54 | Wenatchee Valley College Wenatchee, WA | Public | $41,592 | $9,722 | $10,332 | -180% | Poor return | |
| 55 | Academy of Interactive Entertainment Seattle, WA | Private | $38,714 | $34,626 | $12,000 | -185% | Poor return | |
| 56 | Pima Medical Institute-Seattle Seattle, WA | For-profit | $39,008 | $31,016 | $9,500 | -192% | Poor return | |
| 57 | Lower Columbia College Longview, WA | Public | $41,848 | $7,630 | $10,506 | -192% | Poor return | |
| 58 | Carrington College-Spokane Spokane, WA | For-profit | $35,684 | $42,335 | $9,295 | -206% | Poor return | |
| 59 | Pima Medical Institute-Renton Renton, WA | For-profit | $36,866 | $31,578 | $9,500 | -222% | Poor return | |
| 60 | Renton Technical College Renton, WA | Public | $40,595 | $8,296 | $7,920 | -222% | Poor return | |
| 61 | Summit Salon Academy Tacoma, WA | For-profit | $29,174 | $25,471 | $9,785 | -390% | Poor return | |
| 62 | UEI College-Tacoma Tacoma, WA | For-profit | $31,859 | $36,850 | $9,500 | -426% | Poor return | |
| 63 | Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Seattle Seattle, WA | For-profit | $34,909 | $23,787 | $7,773 | -479% | Poor return | |
| 64 | Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy-Shoreline Shoreline, WA | For-profit | $33,492 | $20,286 | $9,090 | -588% | Poor return | |
| 65 | Paul Mitchell the School-Spokane Spokane Valley, WA | For-profit | $24,869 | $22,646 | $10,556 | -860% | Poor return | |
| 66 | Victoria's Academy of Cosmetology Kennewick, WA | For-profit | $25,756 | $22,095 | $7,830 | -871% | Poor return | |
| 67 | Paul Mitchell the School-Richland Richland, WA | For-profit | $21,240 | $26,617 | $9,917 | -886% | Poor return | |
| 68 | Paul Mitchell the School-Federal Way Federal Way, WA | For-profit | $30,887 | $13,711 | $10,555 | -904% | Poor return | |
| 69 | Studio Beauty School Spokane Valley, WA | For-profit | $24,791 | $18,911 | $6,582 | -1,048% | Poor return | |
| 70 | Evergreen Beauty and Barber College-Everett Everett, WA | For-profit | $24,890 | $14,149 | $7,917 | -1,281% | Poor return | |
| 71 | Stylemaster College of Hair Design Longview, WA | For-profit | $21,699 | $6,773 | $8,953 | -2,422% | Poor return |
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Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.