Best Colleges in Washington by Salary Potential

Find out what kind of salary your bachelor’s degree could earn you. Check out this ranking of Washington’s best four-year colleges by earning potential.

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Bachelor's Only
All Alumni
RankSchool NameSchool TypeEarly Career Pay
Mid-Career Pay
% High Meaning
% STEM Degrees
Rank:1School Name:Seattle UniversitySchool Type:Private School, Religious, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$65,700Mid-Career Pay:$121,400% High Meaning:58%% STEM Degrees:16%
Rank:1School Name:University of Washington-Seattle CampusSchool Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$67,400Mid-Career Pay:$121,400% High Meaning:52%% STEM Degrees:37%
Rank:3School Name:Whitman CollegeSchool Type:Liberal Arts School, Private SchoolEarly Career Pay:$59,800Mid-Career Pay:$119,700% High Meaning:52%% STEM Degrees:36%
Rank:4School Name:Gonzaga UniversitySchool Type:Private School, Religious, For Sports FansEarly Career Pay:$63,300Mid-Career Pay:$117,500% High Meaning:51%% STEM Degrees:19%
Rank:5School Name:University of Puget SoundSchool Type:Liberal Arts School, Private SchoolEarly Career Pay:$58,700Mid-Career Pay:$116,100% High Meaning:46%% STEM Degrees:18%
Rank:6School Name:University of Washington-Bothell CampusSchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$66,300Mid-Career Pay:$114,200% High Meaning:55%% STEM Degrees:32%
Rank:7School Name:Seattle Pacific UniversitySchool Type:Private School, Religious, Research UniversityEarly Career Pay:$57,800Mid-Career Pay:$112,600% High Meaning:52%% STEM Degrees:15%
Rank:8School Name:Washington State UniversitySchool Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$60,700Mid-Career Pay:$110,100% High Meaning:50%% STEM Degrees:22%
Rank:9School Name:Walla Walla UniversitySchool Type:Private School, ReligiousEarly Career Pay:$57,000Mid-Career Pay:$108,800% High Meaning:54%% STEM Degrees:22%
Rank:10School Name:Western Washington UniversitySchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$59,600Mid-Career Pay:$108,300% High Meaning:45%% STEM Degrees:16%
Rank:11School Name:Pacific Lutheran UniversitySchool Type:Private School, ReligiousEarly Career Pay:$58,400Mid-Career Pay:$106,200% High Meaning:52%% STEM Degrees:15%
Rank:12School Name:City University of SeattleSchool Type:Private SchoolEarly Career Pay:$54,000Mid-Career Pay:$102,700% High Meaning:57%% STEM Degrees:6%
Rank:13School Name:Central Washington UniversitySchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$57,300Mid-Career Pay:$99,600% High Meaning:49%% STEM Degrees:13%
Rank:14School Name:University of Washington-Tacoma CampusSchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$61,700Mid-Career Pay:$96,600% High Meaning:49%% STEM Degrees:29%
Rank:15School Name:Saint Martin's UniversitySchool Type:Private School, ReligiousEarly Career Pay:$59,200Mid-Career Pay:$95,200% High Meaning:62%% STEM Degrees:49%
Rank:16School Name:Columbia Basin CollegeSchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$56,500Mid-Career Pay:$94,900% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:5%
Rank:17School Name:Whitworth UniversitySchool Type:Private School, ReligiousEarly Career Pay:$54,200Mid-Career Pay:$92,700% High Meaning:56%% STEM Degrees:16%
Rank:18School Name:Cornish College of the ArtsSchool Type:Art, Private SchoolEarly Career Pay:$53,800Mid-Career Pay:$92,300% High Meaning:39%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:19School Name:Eastern Washington UniversitySchool Type:For Sports Fans, State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$55,300Mid-Career Pay:$90,200% High Meaning:51%% STEM Degrees:17%
Rank:20School Name:Northwest UniversitySchool Type:Private School, ReligiousEarly Career Pay:$57,300Mid-Career Pay:$90,000% High Meaning:55%% STEM Degrees:3%
Rank:21School Name:Whitworth University-Adult Degree ProgramsSchool Type:Private School, ReligiousEarly Career Pay:$58,200Mid-Career Pay:$89,300% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:22School Name:Seattle Central CollegeSchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$54,900Mid-Career Pay:$87,300% High Meaning:-% STEM Degrees:12%
Rank:22School Name:The Evergreen State CollegeSchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$51,800Mid-Career Pay:$87,300% High Meaning:48%% STEM Degrees:0%
Rank:24School Name:Bellevue CollegeSchool Type:State SchoolEarly Career Pay:$58,000Mid-Career Pay:$84,100% High Meaning:51%% STEM Degrees:13%
Rank:25School Name:Bastyr UniversitySchool Type:Private SchoolEarly Career Pay:$50,900Mid-Career Pay:$83,600% High Meaning:69%% STEM Degrees:0%

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College Student

Graduates of the University of Washington in Seattle, WA earn the highest starting salaries. UW is also the largest school in Washington – that’s a lot of Huskies.

Basketball powerhouse Gonzaga University often comes in highfor early career earnings. Obviously we aren’t including the salaries of professional athletes who graduated from these schools, like Warren Moon, Brandon Roy, Zach Scott, Nate Robinson and more.

Walla Walla University alumni are likely to say that their jobs make the world a better place – around 80 percent say their work is meaningful.