Colleges

Colleges in Washington

Washington has 20 four-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates: 8 public and 12 private. The largest is University of Washington, with 31,942 undergraduates.

School	City	Type	Undergrads	Acceptance rate	SAT middle 50%	In-state tuition	Avg. net price	Grad rate
University of Washington	Seattle	public	31,942	39.1%		$12,973	$14,091	85.2%
Washington State University	Pullman	public	21,099	86.6%		$13,391	$14,971	60.5%
Western Washington University	Bellingham	public	13,544	93.3%	1150–1390	$9,582	$21,193	64.6%
Central Washington University	Ellensburg	public	7,833	90.6%		$9,417	$18,476	53.6%
Eastern Washington University	Cheney	public	6,222	90.8%		$8,586	$13,886	43.5%
University of Washington-Bothell Campus	Bothell	public	5,457	90.6%		$12,919	$12,319	65.3%
Gonzaga University	Spokane	private	5,198	81.7%	1190–1380	$55,480	$35,119	86.3%
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	Tacoma	public	4,185	82.5%		$13,168	$10,163	63.2%
Seattle University	Seattle	private	4,062	76.9%	1200–1430	$56,721	$34,662	75.5%
Pacific Lutheran University	Tacoma	private	2,401	78%	1040–1260	$52,254	$19,589	68.6%
The Evergreen State College	Olympia	public	2,160	96.4%	1035–1253	$9,264	$24,319	40.7%
Whitworth University	Spokane	private	1,858	89.8%	1090–1330	$52,880	$26,534	70.9%
Seattle Pacific University	Seattle	private	1,762	83.4%		$40,407	$24,488	62%
University of Puget Sound	Tacoma	private	1,594	72.3%	1170–1380	$62,898	$38,394	68%
Whitman College	Walla Walla	private	1,531	38.2%	1310–1480	$64,050	$33,313	80.5%
Walla Walla University	College Place	private	1,252			$34,227	$23,329	59.9%
Saint Martin's University	Lacey	private	1,158	89.8%	1025–1230	$45,510	$28,119	51.9%
City University of Seattle	Seattle	private	1,137
Heritage University	Toppenish	private	812			$20,928	$14,598	53.7%
Northwest University	Kirkland	private	645	83.2%	1040–1350	$36,035	$22,288	70.8%

A blank cell means the school did not report that figure. Net price is the average cost after grants for students receiving federal aid. Graduation rate is within six years.

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All 20 schools with their acceptance rates, score ranges, and costs.

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Frequently asked questions

How many colleges are in Washington?

20 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges with at least 500 undergraduates, 8 public and 12 private, according to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Community colleges, for-profit schools, and online-only schools are not counted.

What is the hardest college to get into in Washington?

By acceptance rate, Whitman College (38.2%), University of Washington (39.1%), University of Puget Sound (72.3%), Seattle University (76.9%), Pacific Lutheran University (78%) are the most selective.

What is the cheapest public college in Washington?

Eastern Washington University has the lowest published in-state tuition and fees of the public four-year colleges here, at $8,586 a year. That is the sticker price before financial aid.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Institution-Level Data (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release. These are federal figures. Schools with a linked profile have also been checked against their own filings; the others have not.