Cheapest Colleges in Washington
Sticker prices at the 18 four-year colleges we rank in Washington run from $8,586 to $64,050 a year in tuition and fees, a gap of $55,464 between the cheapest school and the most expensive one.
The 6 public colleges here charge a median of $9,500 a year, $441 (4%) below the national public median of $9,940. The 11 private nonprofit colleges on the list charge a median of $52,254, above the $39,582 national private median. Sticker price alone rarely settles the cheapest private option, so check the net price column.
Eastern Washington University ranks first at $8,586, ahead of The Evergreen State College ($9,264) and Central Washington University ($9,417).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- 4-year colleges whose main award is the bachelor's degree (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by in-state tuition & fees, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Washington
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported in-state tuition & fees value (schools without one are not ranked)
- Schools that report no tuition or a $0 price are not ranked
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Washington has 18
- Data period
- In-state tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25. Some community colleges report the in-district rate.
- Out-of-state tuition and fees: academic year 2024-25. Shown for public colleges only, because private colleges charge everyone the same price.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 18 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA Public · 4-year | $8,586 | $25,959 | $13,886 | 45% | 6,222 |
| 2 | The Evergreen State College Olympia, WA Public · 4-year | $9,264 | $31,905 | $24,319 | 43% | 2,160 |
| 3 | Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA Public · 4-year | $9,417 | $27,526 | $18,476 | 52% | 7,833 |
| 4 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA Public · 4-year | $9,582 | $28,707 | $21,193 | 65% | 13,544 |
| 5 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 4-year | $12,973 | $43,209 | $14,091 | 84% | 31,942 |
| 6 | Washington State University Pullman, WA Public · 4-year | $13,391 | $29,950 | $14,971 | 61% | 21,099 |
| 7 | Heritage University Toppenish, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,928 | — | $14,598 | 46% | 812 |
| 8 | Walla Walla University College Place, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $34,227 | — | $23,329 | 62% | 1,252 |
| 9 | Northwest University Kirkland, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $36,035 | — | $22,288 | 67% | 645 |
| 10 | DigiPen Institute of Technology Redmond, WA For-profit · 4-year | $38,950 | — | $44,446 | 56% | 995 |
| 11 | Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,407 | — | $24,488 | 62% | 1,762 |
| 12 | Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $45,510 | — | $28,119 | 55% | 1,158 |
| 13 | Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $52,254 | — | $19,589 | 70% | 2,401 |
| 14 | Whitworth University Spokane, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $52,880 | — | $26,534 | 70% | 1,858 |
| 15 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $55,480 | — | $35,119 | 87% | 5,198 |
| 16 | Seattle University Seattle, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $56,721 | — | $34,662 | 74% | 4,062 |
| 17 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $62,898 | — | $38,394 | 68% | 1,594 |
| 18 | Whitman College Walla Walla, WA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $64,050 | — | $33,313 | 81% | 1,531 |
How to compare these colleges
Start with the net price column rather than the sticker price. Net price is the average a student who receives aid pays after grants and scholarships, so a school that ranks lower here can still be the cheaper choice for your family. The out-of-state column applies only if you are not a legal resident of Washington, and only public colleges charge a separate rate.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Washington
Cheap colleges in Washington for out-of-state students
32 schools
Community colleges in Washington
26 schools
Best value colleges in Washington
21 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Washington
44 schools
Same list in nearby states
Cheapest colleges in Oregon
16 schools
Cheapest colleges in New York
112 schools
Cheapest colleges in California
83 schools
All 51 colleges in Washington See the national version of this ranking