Best-Value Colleges in Washington
21 Washington 4-year colleges ranked by return on investment - 10-year graduate earnings per dollar of net price - among schools that beat the state median on earnings and graduation rate.
Quick answer
The best-value college in Washington is University of Washington-Tacoma Campus, Tacoma - a net price of $11,900 against $78,466 in median 10-year earnings, an ROI of 6.6×, with a 62% graduation rate. Every school here turns a modest cost into outsized, above-median earnings.
| # | School | Net price /yr | 10-yr earnings | ROI (earn ÷ price) | Grad rate | In-state tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | $11,900 | $78,466 | 6.6× | 62% | $13,577 |
| 2 |  University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | $13,663 | $78,466 | 5.7× | 84% | $13,406 |
| 3 |  University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA | $13,802 | $78,466 | 5.7× | 68% | $13,472 |
| 4 |  Washington State University Pullman, WA | $13,462 | $68,905 | 5.1× | 62% | $13,888 |
| 5 |  Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA | $13,647 | $57,897 | 4.2× | 47% | $8,886 |
| 6 |  Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA | $20,652 | $66,990 | 3.2× | 71% | $53,096 |
| 7 |  Bellingham Technical College Bellingham, WA | $15,746 | $49,748 | 3.2× | 45% | $5,223 |
| 8 |  Western Washington University Bellingham, WA | $19,963 | $62,569 | 3.1× | 66% | $9,924 |
| 9 |  Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA | $21,201 | $61,580 | 2.9× | 50% | $9,655 |
| 10 | RTC Renton Technical College Renton, WA | $18,421 | $49,782 | 2.7× | 55% | $6,015 |
| 11 |  Whitworth University Spokane, WA | $23,009 | $58,561 | 2.5× | 68% | $55,450 |
| 12 |  Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA | $25,419 | $64,506 | 2.5× | 62% | $44,367 |
| 13 |  Northwest University Kirkland, WA | $22,071 | $54,914 | 2.5× | 63% | $37,360 |
| 14 |  Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA | $25,472 | $62,092 | 2.4× | 57% | $46,856 |
| 15 | GU Gonzaga University Spokane, WA | $32,750 | $78,892 | 2.4× | 87% | $57,250 |
| 16 |  Whitman College Walla Walla, WA | $29,486 | $67,589 | 2.3× | 81% | $66,610 |
| 17 | FIU Faith International University Tacoma, WA | $22,817 | $51,006 | 2.2× | 67% | $8,850 |
| 18 |  Walla Walla University College Place, WA | $27,786 | $61,885 | 2.2× | 64% | $35,757 |
| 19 |  Seattle University Seattle, WA | $34,324 | $75,272 | 2.2× | 73% | $58,965 |
| 20 |  University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA | $32,507 | $69,594 | 2.1× | 68% | $65,886 |
| 21 |  DigiPen Institute of Technology Redmond, WA | $42,428 | $79,878 | 1.9× | 52% | $40,070 |
How we ranked this
From every Washington four-year college that publishes net price, 10-year median earnings, and graduation rate, we keep only those that beat the state median on earnings and that graduate at least 45% of students (or the state median grad rate, whichever is higher). We then rank by ROI = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price - the dollars of graduate earnings each dollar of net price buys - highest first. This rewards genuine return on investment rather than the cheapest sticker price, and the 4-year + outcome guards keep out the low-completion and 2-year outliers a pure price sort surfaces. Colleges missing any of the three figures are excluded, never estimated. Minimum 5 qualifying schools required to publish a page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best-value college in Washington?+
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus in Tacoma has the highest return on investment among Washington 4-year colleges that beat the state median on outcomes: a net price of $11,900 against $78,466 in 10-year median earnings - an ROI of 6.6× (dollars earned per dollar of annual net price) - with a 62% graduation rate.
What does "net price" mean?+
Net price is the average annual cost students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the full cost of attendance - a far better affordability measure than sticker tuition. We use the College Scorecard average net price.
How is "best value" defined here?+
Value means return on investment, not cheapness. Among Washington four-year colleges that beat the state median on BOTH 10-year graduate earnings and graduation rate (and graduate at least 45% of students), we rank by the ROI ratio = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price. The school that turns each tuition dollar into the most graduate earnings ranks first.
Is the cheapest college always the best value?+
No. A rock-bottom price that leads to low earnings is worse value than a moderate price that leads to high earnings. That is exactly why we rank by the earnings-to-net-price ratio rather than by lowest price, and require above-median earnings and graduation rates first. Colleges missing net price, earnings, or graduation data are excluded rather than estimated.
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · IPEDS. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “-” and never estimated. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.