by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Top Washington Colleges ranking.
Our analysis looked at 51 schools in Washington to determine which ones were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors - such as graduation rate, post graduate earnings, and a school's average expenditure per student - to make this determination.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found University of Washington - Seattle Campus to be the best school for overall quality in Washington in this year’s ranking. This large public school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 15,234 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from UW Seattle make an average of $68,925 a year.
A rank of #2 on our Best Colleges in Washington list means Seattle University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Seattle University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 2,500 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from Seattle U make an average of $69,303 a year.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Washington list means Washington State University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Wazzu is located in Pullman, Washington and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8,678 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Wazzu go into careers with an average salary of $61,080 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Gonzaga University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Colleges in Washington list. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Spokane, Washington. It awarded 2,266 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $69,468 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 51 schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Washington University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Ellensburg, Washington, the fairly large public school handed out 3,496 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from CWU is $55,685 during the early years of their career.
University of Puget Sound came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Washington ranking. Located in Tacoma, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 694 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Puget Sound make an average of $61,842 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, Western Washington University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington list. WWU is located in Bellingham, Washington and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3,975 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from WWU make an average of $54,976 per year during the early years of their career.
Whitman College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington ranking, coming in at #8. Whitman College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Walla Walla, Washington that handed out 345 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $59,340 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #9, Clover Park Technical College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington list. Clover Park Technical College is a small public school located in Lakewood, Washington that handed out 1,769 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $34,589 during the early years of their career..
Whitworth University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Washington ranking. Located in Spokane, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 733 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Whitworth make an average of $55,248 per year during the early years of their career.
Seattle Pacific University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington ranking. Located in Seattle, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 1,294 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from SPU is $57,097 during the early years of their career.
Lake Washington Institute of Technology landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington ranking. Located in Kirkland, Washington, the small public school handed out 1,238 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,834 during the early years of their career..
Pacific Lutheran University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington ranking, coming in at #13.Tacoma, Washington is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 776 students in 2020-2021.
The low student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from PLU make an average of $57,049 per year during the early years of their career.
City University of Seattle ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Washington list. Located in Seattle, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 644 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from CityU go into careers with an average salary of $58,510 during the early years of their career.
Bellevue College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Washington list. BC is located in Bellevue, Washington and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,717 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from BC make an average of $54,232 per year during the early years of their career.
Eastern Washington University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington ranking, coming in at #16. EWU is located in Cheney, Washington and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3,364 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. During the early years of their career, graduates from EWU make an average of $52,667 a year.
With a ranking of #17, Saint Martin’s University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington list. Located in Lacey, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 572 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $55,283 during the early years of their career..
Bellingham Technical College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington ranking, coming in at #18. This small public school is located in Bellingham, Washington, and it awarded 1,134 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,357 during the early years of their career..
Highline College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Washington ranking. This small public school is located in Des Moines, Washington, and it awarded 1,083 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Highline make an average of $45,159 per year during the early years of their career.
Northwest University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges in Washington list. Located in Kirkland, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 380 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Northwest University is $48,096 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #21, Walla Walla University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington list. Located in College Place, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 462 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Walla Walla U is $53,236 during the early years of their career.
Columbia Basin College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Washington ranking. Located in Pasco, Washington, the medium-sized public school handed out 1,778 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from CBC make an average of $41,960 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #23, Shoreline Community College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington list. Shoreline Community College is a public institution located in Shoreline, Washington. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1,521 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Shoreline Community College make an average of $47,212 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #24, Seattle Central College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges in Washington list. Located in Seattle, Washington, the small public school handed out 1,319 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Seattle Central make an average of $40,413 per year during the early years of their career.
The Evergreen State College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in Washington list. The Evergreen State College is a small public school located in Olympia, Washington that handed out 758 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,782 during the early years of their career..
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
