Best value colleges in Washington
Every Washington college we have data for, ranked by 10-year return on investment.
100
Colleges
$17,663
Avg net price as of 2024
$54,797
Median earnings as of 2024
$14,930
Median debt as of 2024
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 |
Browse by city
Seattle (16)Spokane (11)Tacoma (9)Bellingham (5)Yakima (4)Vancouver (3)Kirkland (3)Everett (3)Walla Walla (2)Spokane Valley (2)Shoreline (2)Richland (2)Renton (2)Pullman (2)Olympia (2)Longview (2)Lakewood (2)Kennewick (2)Centralia (2)Bothell (2)Wenatchee (1)Toppenish (1)Redmond (1)Port Hadlock (1)Port Angeles (1)Pasco (1)Oak Harbor (1)Mount Vernon (1)Moses Lake (1)Marysville (1)Lynnwood (1)Lacey (1)Kenmore (1)Federal Way (1)Ellensburg (1)Des Moines (1)College Place (1)Cheney (1)Bremerton (1)Bellevue (1)
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.