Degree Dividend
Sourced from federal dataEvery figure datedNo rankings for sale

Best colleges in Washington, ranked by ROI

All 64 Washington institutions we profile, ranked by payback years — total net cost divided by earnings above the $48,360 high-school baseline. Federal net price and earnings; payback is our math. (Scorecard, 2026.)

$12,027
Median net price / yr
Scorecard, 2026
$47,799
Median earnings, 10 yrs
Scorecard, 2026
7 yrs
Median payback
Our math, 2026
64
Colleges ranked
degreedividend.com
Washington colleges by payback (best first)
#CollegeNet price/yrEarnings 10yPayback
1University of Washington-Tacoma Campus$10,163$78,4661.4 yrs
2University of Washington-Bothell Campus$12,319$78,4661.6 yrs
3University of Washington-Seattle Campus$14,091$78,4661.9 yrs
4Washington State University$14,971$68,9052.9 yrs
5Bellevue College$11,430$56,3102.9 yrs
6Pacific Lutheran University$19,589$66,9904.2 yrs
7Cascadia College$12,281$54,1334.3 yrs
8Gonzaga University$35,119$78,8924.6 yrs
9Shoreline College$8,585$52,0094.7 yrs
10Seattle University$34,662$75,2725.2 yrs
11Central Washington University$18,476$61,5805.6 yrs
12DigiPen Institute of Technology$44,446$79,8785.6 yrs
13Eastern Washington University$13,886$57,8975.8 yrs
14Western Washington University$21,193$62,5696 yrs
15Seattle Pacific University$24,488$64,5066.1 yrs
16Whitman College$33,313$67,5896.9 yrs
17Walla Walla University$23,329$61,8856.9 yrs
18University of Puget Sound$38,394$69,5947.2 yrs
19Saint Martin's University$28,119$62,0928.2 yrs
20Perry Technical Institute$20,047$57,7648.5 yrs
21Whitworth University$26,534$58,56110.4 yrs
22Green River College$13,803$50,71211.7 yrs
23Lake Washington Institute of Technology$6,817$50,66911.8 yrs
24Northwest University$22,288$54,91413.6 yrs
25Bates Technical College$6,292$50,05114.9 yrs
26Bellingham Technical College$5,997$49,74817.3 yrs
27Northwest University-Center for Online and Extended Education$35,671$54,91421.8 yrs
28Renton Technical College$8,296$49,78223.3 yrs
29Faith International University$22,662$51,00634.3 yrs
30Heritage University$14,598$49,41655.3 yrs
31Edmonds College$11,010$48,144no payback
32Highline College$9,879$47,869no payback
33Pierce College District$10,222$47,532no payback
34Tacoma Community College$8,376$47,168no payback
35Columbia Basin College$8,317$46,680no payback
36North Seattle College$10,740$47,728no payback
37Everett Community College$10,684$45,434no payback
38South Puget Sound Community College$9,132$45,039no payback
39South Seattle College$6,004$44,486no payback
40Whatcom Community College$11,795$44,092no payback
41Skagit Valley College$6,064$43,505no payback
42Big Bend Community College$12,210$43,814no payback
43Walla Walla Community College$9,406$43,526no payback
44Olympic College$7,172$43,169no payback
45Seattle Central College$8,819$43,307no payback
46Yakima Valley College$11,843$43,499no payback
47Centralia College$9,862$43,140no payback
48Spokane Community College$5,473$41,984no payback
49Clark College$11,465$42,356no payback
50The Evergreen State College$24,319$45,320no payback
51Grays Harbor College$4,783$40,865no payback
52Wenatchee Valley College$9,722$41,127no payback
53Lower Columbia College$7,630$40,691no payback
54Clover Park Technical College$9,864$41,787no payback
55Spokane Falls Community College$7,409$38,955no payback
56Peninsula College$9,246$37,078no payback
57Northwest Indian College$3,136$35,447no payback
58Pima Medical Institute-Seattle$31,016$38,673no payback
59Pima Medical Institute-Renton$31,578$38,673no payback
60Carrington College-Spokane$42,335$36,625no payback
61Evergreen Beauty and Barber College-Everett$14,149$26,872no payback
62UEI College-Tacoma$36,850$30,848no payback
63Paul Mitchell the School-Spokane$22,646$27,209no payback
64Paul Mitchell the School-Richland$26,617$27,407no payback

College Scorecard (2026), institution-level · ranking and payback are our math. Payback uses institution-wide earnings; a specific major can rank very differently.