Highest 20-Year ROI Colleges in Washington
The biggest 20-year net financial gain over a high-school-only earner — tuition and debt already subtracted. Our tax-verified answer to the 20-year ROI question, from IRS-linked federal earnings rather than self-reported surveys.
Showing Washington
Clear state| # | College | Type | 20-yr net gain | 5-yr earnings | Net price | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | DR Rating | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Public | $693,810 | $82,775 | $14,091 | $14,615 | +512% | Strong return | |
| 2 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA | Public | $690,578 | $82,259 | $12,319 | $14,615 | +582% | Strong return | |
| 3 | DigiPen Institute of Technology Redmond, WA | For-profit | $651,477 | $86,955 | $44,446 | $27,000 | +124% | Strong return | |
| 4 | Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA | Private | $586,182 | $79,644 | $24,488 | $24,000 | +225% | Strong return | |
| 5 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | Public | $558,602 | $75,229 | $10,163 | $14,615 | +558% | Strong return | |
| 6 | Walla Walla University College Place, WA | Private | $497,183 | $75,014 | $23,329 | $26,842 | +191% | Strong return | |
| 7 | Seattle University Seattle, WA | Private | $451,926 | $74,891 | $34,662 | $19,883 | +105% | Strong return | |
| 8 | Washington State University Pullman, WA | Public | $440,730 | $70,386 | $14,971 | $19,500 | +279% | Strong return | |
| 9 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA | Private | $435,573 | $74,248 | $35,119 | $24,454 | +96% | Strong return | |
| 10 | Bellingham Technical College Bellingham, WA | Public | $410,970 | $67,066 | $5,997 | $17,459 | +627% | Strong return | |
| 11 | Columbia Basin College Pasco, WA | Public | $402,608 | $67,064 | $8,317 | $14,829 | +471% | Strong return | |
| 12 | Heritage University Toppenish, WA | Private | $292,777 | $62,824 | $14,598 | $14,573 | +180% | Strong return | |
| 13 | Northwest University Kirkland, WA | Private | $292,775 | $64,477 | $22,288 | $20,891 | +101% | Strong return | |
| 14 | Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA | Private | $286,965 | $65,382 | $28,119 | $22,500 | +69% | Strong return | |
| 15 | Cascadia College Bothell, WA | Public | $273,615 | $61,253 | $12,281 | $6,368 | +216% | Strong return | |
| 16 | Bellevue College Bellevue, WA | Public | $260,690 | $60,546 | $11,430 | $12,375 | +210% | Strong return | |
| 17 | Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland, WA | Public | $254,269 | $59,351 | $6,817 | $15,047 | +338% | Strong return | |
| 18 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA | Private | $245,374 | $65,403 | $38,394 | $25,000 | +25% | Break-even | |
| 19 | Bates Technical College Tacoma, WA | Public | $236,412 | $58,079 | $6,292 | — | +420% | Strong return | |
| 20 | Seattle Central College Seattle, WA | Public | $234,031 | $58,684 | $8,819 | $12,000 | +245% | Strong return | |
| 21 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA | Public | $228,590 | $59,562 | $13,886 | $19,500 | +132% | Strong return | |
| 22 | Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA | Private | $224,776 | $60,568 | $19,589 | $22,578 | +80% | Strong return | |
| 23 | Centralia College Centralia, WA | Public | $221,252 | $58,035 | $9,862 | — | +230% | Strong return | |
| 24 | Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA | Public | $219,570 | $60,029 | $18,476 | $19,500 | +86% | Strong return | |
| 25 | Grays Harbor College Aberdeen, WA | Public | $216,632 | $56,990 | $4,783 | $11,075 | +418% | Strong return | |
| 26 | Pierce College District Lakewood, WA | Public | $195,939 | $57,060 | $10,222 | $12,000 | +167% | Strong return | |
| 27 | The Evergreen State College Olympia, WA | Public | $182,794 | $59,377 | $24,319 | $20,500 | +37% | Break-even | |
| 28 | Edmonds College Lynnwood, WA | Public | $174,700 | $56,153 | $11,010 | $11,855 | +131% | Strong return | |
| 29 | Highline College Des Moines, WA | Public | $136,262 | $53,962 | $9,879 | $9,500 | +109% | Strong return | |
| 30 | Skagit Valley College Mount Vernon, WA | Public | $135,173 | $53,223 | $6,064 | $13,805 | +181% | Strong return | |
| 31 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA | Public | $129,866 | $56,069 | $21,193 | $18,500 | +21% | Break-even | |
| 32 | North Seattle College Seattle, WA | Public | $124,487 | $53,654 | $10,740 | $15,458 | +78% | Strong return | |
| 33 | South Puget Sound Community College Olympia, WA | Public | $123,304 | $53,192 | $9,132 | $11,000 | +102% | Strong return | |
| 34 | Whitworth University Spokane, WA | Private | $112,434 | $56,384 | $26,534 | $25,000 | -1% | Poor return | |
| 35 | Peninsula College Port Angeles, WA | Public | $109,403 | $52,607 | $9,246 | $15,786 | +78% | Strong return | |
| 36 | Whitman College Walla Walla, WA | Private | $108,909 | $57,444 | $33,313 | $18,437 | -11% | Poor return | |
| 37 | Tacoma Community College Tacoma, WA | Public | $83,499 | $51,087 | $8,376 | $13,000 | +59% | Break-even | |
| 38 | Shoreline College Shoreline, WA | Public | $70,979 | $50,485 | $8,585 | $12,021 | +42% | Break-even | |
| 39 | Clark College Vancouver, WA | Public | $39,795 | $49,481 | $11,465 | $10,881 | -10% | Poor return | |
| 40 | Everett Community College Everett, WA | Public | $33,368 | $48,995 | $10,684 | $10,417 | -14% | Poor return | |
| 41 | Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla, WA | Public | $25,234 | $48,398 | $9,406 | $14,000 | -21% | Poor return | |
| 42 | Perry Technical Institute Yakima, WA | Private | $-3,846 | $47,070 | $20,047 | $14,139 | -54% | Poor return | |
| 43 | Spokane Falls Community College Spokane, WA | Public | $-16,529 | $45,874 | $7,409 | $12,000 | -74% | Poor return | |
| 44 | Spokane Community College Spokane, WA | Public | $-34,992 | $44,591 | $5,473 | $13,501 | -115% | Poor return | |
| 45 | Clover Park Technical College Lakewood, WA | Public | $-36,050 | $45,391 | $9,864 | $12,112 | -91% | Poor return | |
| 46 | Big Bend Community College Moses Lake, WA | Public | $-36,400 | $45,789 | $12,210 | $9,166 | -85% | Poor return | |
| 47 | Olympic College Bremerton, WA | Public | $-55,961 | $43,855 | $7,172 | $12,000 | -135% | Poor return | |
| 48 | Green River College Auburn, WA | Public | $-73,185 | $44,318 | $13,803 | $11,891 | -112% | Poor return | |
| 49 | Lower Columbia College Longview, WA | Public | $-97,388 | $41,848 | $7,630 | $10,506 | -192% | Poor return | |
| 50 | Yakima Valley College Yakima, WA | Public | $-105,281 | $42,359 | $11,843 | $13,966 | -150% | Poor return | |
| 51 | Wenatchee Valley College Wenatchee, WA | Public | $-110,813 | $41,592 | $9,722 | $10,332 | -180% | Poor return | |
| 52 | Whatcom Community College Bellingham, WA | Public | $-121,478 | $41,479 | $11,795 | $10,643 | -169% | Poor return | |
| 53 | Renton Technical College Renton, WA | Public | $-124,170 | $40,595 | $8,296 | $7,920 | -222% | Poor return | |
| 54 | UEI College-Tacoma Tacoma, WA | For-profit | $-303,132 | $31,859 | $36,850 | $9,500 | -426% | Poor return | |
| 55 | Evergreen Beauty and Barber College-Everett Everett, WA | For-profit | $-419,234 | $24,890 | $14,149 | $7,917 | -1,281% | Poor return |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.
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