Cost comparison
Affordable colleges in Washington
CampusPin lists 73 colleges in Washington. The 40 below are ordered by lowest published in-state tuition, with a median of $5,267 and a median average net price of $9,269 among those reporting it. Tuition, total cost, and net price are three different numbers — the table keeps them separate.
Washington college costs by the numbers
- Lowest published in-state tuition
- Olympic College ($4,197)
- Median in-state tuition (40 reporting)
- $5,267
- Median net price after aid (40 reporting)
- $9,269
- Highest graduation rate
- Pacific Northwest Christian College (100%)
- Most selective
- Eastern Washington University (91% acceptance)
- Largest by enrollment
- Western Washington University (14,710 students)
Washington colleges by published in-state tuition
Lowest published in-state tuition first. Every figure is as reported by the institution to federal data collections; blank cells are unreported values, not zeros.
| College | In-state tuition | Out-of-state tuition | Avg. net price | Graduation rate | Acceptance rate | Public/private | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic College | $4,197 | $9,740 | $7,172 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Bremerton, WA |
| Northwest Indian College | $4,365 | $4,365 | $7,625 | 18% | Open admission | Public | Bellingham, WA |
| Bellingham Technical College | $4,431 | $5,809 | $5,997 | 42% | Open admission | Public | Bellingham, WA |
| Bellevue College | $4,436 | $10,502 | $11,430 | 36% | Open admission | Public | Bellevue, WA |
| Lower Columbia College | $4,626 | $6,003 | $7,630 | 23% | Open admission | Public | Longview, WA |
| Green River College | $4,711 | $5,263 | $13,803 | 39% | Open admission | Public | Auburn, WA |
| Peninsula College | $4,718 | $5,270 | $4,529 | 37% | Open admission | Public | Port Angeles, WA |
| Highline College | $4,772 | $5,332 | $9,879 | 35% | Open admission | Public | Des Moines, WA |
| Edmonds College | $4,810 | $10,875 | $11,010 | 29% | Open admission | Public | Lynnwood, WA |
| Everett Community College | $5,032 | $11,171 | $10,684 | 37% | Open admission | Public | Everett, WA |
| Big Bend Community College | $5,059 | $5,619 | $12,210 | 42% | Open admission | Public | Moses Lake, WA |
| Shoreline Community College | $5,115 | $7,905 | $8,585 | 29% | Open admission | Public | Shoreline, WA |
| Whatcom Community College | $5,115 | $11,037 | $11,795 | 36% | Open admission | Public | Bellingham, WA |
| Cascadia College | $5,157 | $11,296 | $12,281 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Bothell, WA |
| Seattle Central College | $5,184 | $5,745 | $8,819 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Seattle, WA |
| Clark College | $5,233 | $11,183 | $11,465 | 39% | Open admission | Public | Vancouver, WA |
| North Seattle College | $5,238 | $5,796 | $10,740 | 33% | Open admission | Public | Seattle, WA |
| South Seattle College | $5,238 | $5,796 | $6,004 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Seattle, WA |
| South Puget Sound Community College | $5,252 | $5,813 | $9,132 | 44% | Open admission | Public | Olympia, WA |
| Centralia College | $5,266 | $5,651 | $9,862 | 42% | Open admission | Public | Centralia, WA |
| Wenatchee Valley College | $5,267 | $5,636 | $9,722 | 43% | Open admission | Public | Wenatchee, WA |
| Walla Walla Community College | $5,279 | $6,700 | $9,406 | 38% | Open admission | Public | Walla Walla, WA |
| Yakima Valley College | $5,312 | $5,873 | $11,843 | 29% | Open admission | Public | Yakima, WA |
| Skagit Valley College | $5,400 | $7,500 | $6,064 | 36% | Open admission | Public | Mount Vernon, WA |
| Pierce College District | $5,418 | $5,976 | $10,222 | 31% | Open admission | Public | Lakewood, WA |
| Spokane Community College | $5,461 | $6,612 | $5,473 | 33% | Open admission | Public | Spokane, WA |
| Spokane Falls Community College | $5,461 | $6,612 | $7,409 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Spokane, WA |
| Tacoma Community College | $5,507 | $11,646 | $8,376 | 32% | Open admission | Public | Tacoma, WA |
| Grays Harbor College | $5,593 | $12,553 | $3,149 | 39% | Open admission | Public | Aberdeen, WA |
| Lake Washington Institute of Technology | $5,997 | $12,062 | $6,817 | 37% | Open admission | Public | Kirkland, WA |
| Bates Technical College | $6,027 | $12,165 | $4,176 | 43% | Open admission | Public | Tacoma, WA |
| Renton Technical College | $6,308 | $7,369 | $5,051 | 46% | Open admission | Public | Renton, WA |
| Columbia Basin College | $6,555 | $8,668 | $8,317 | 33% | Open admission | Public | Pasco, WA |
| Clover Park Technical College | $6,634 | $6,634 | $3,912 | 43% | Open admission | Public | Lakewood, WA |
| Eastern Washington University | $8,586 | $25,959 | $13,886 | 43% | 91% | Public | Cheney, WA |
| Faith International University | $8,850 | $8,850 | $22,662 | 25% | Open admission | Private | Tacoma, WA |
| The Evergreen State College | $9,264 | $31,905 | $24,319 | 41% | 96% | Public | Olympia, WA |
| Central Washington University | $9,417 | $27,526 | $18,476 | 54% | 91% | Public | Ellensburg, WA |
| Western Washington University | $9,582 | $28,707 | $21,193 | 65% | 93% | Public | Bellingham, WA |
| Pacific Northwest Christian College | $11,350 | $11,350 | $5,857 | 100% | Open admission | Private | Kennewick, WA |
“Open admission” means the college reports an open-admission policy to the federal IPEDS survey (2024-25), or reported admitting every applicant. Programs such as nursing can still have their own entry requirements, so confirm with the college.
What the Washington cost data shows
- Olympic College has the lowest published in-state tuition on this page at $4,197 per year. Published tuition is the sticker price and excludes housing, food, books, and fees.
- Median published in-state tuition is $5,259 across the public colleges here and $10,100 across the private ones — a $4,841 difference at sticker price. Private colleges often discount heavily, so compare net price before ruling one out.
- Median average net price is $9,269 across the 40 colleges here that report it. Net price includes housing and other costs, so it can exceed tuition alone.
How this list was built
This page lists colleges CampusPin holds for Washington, sorted by published in-state tuition, lowest first. That sort is the only ranking applied — there is no CampusPin score, no editorial ordering, and no “#1 cheapest” claim.
Published tuition is the sticker price for instruction. Total cost of attendance adds housing, food, books, and fees. Average net price is what students actually paid on average after grant and scholarship aid, reported to federal collections for a prior entering class. Net price is an average across a whole cohort and varies substantially by family income, so treat it as a comparison tool between colleges rather than a prediction of your own bill.
Figures come from the institution’s federal reporting (73 of 73 Washington institutions report in-state tuition). Always confirm current costs with the college’s financial aid office before making a decision.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest college in Washington?
- Of the 40 Washington colleges on this page, Olympic College in Bremerton reports the lowest published in-state tuition at $4,197 per year. That is the sticker price before aid and before housing and food; the college's net price after grants may rank differently.
- Is tuition the same as the total cost of college?
- No. Published tuition covers instruction only. Total cost of attendance adds housing, food, books, transportation, and fees. Net price is what students actually paid on average after grant and scholarship aid was applied, and across the 40 Washington colleges reporting it here the median is $9,269. Compare all three before deciding a college is or isn't affordable.
- Are public colleges cheaper than private colleges in Washington?
- At sticker price, yes on this page: median published in-state tuition is $5,259 at the public colleges listed and $10,100 at the private ones. Private colleges typically discount more heavily through institutional grants, so the gap in net price is usually much smaller than the gap in tuition.
- Will I personally pay these amounts at a Washington college?
- Almost certainly not exactly. Net price varies widely by family income, and the figures here are averages across a previous entering class reported to federal collections. Use them to compare colleges against each other, then run the numbers for your own situation with the net price estimator and confirm with each financial aid office.
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Data sources & methodology
Cost, aid, and outcome figures for Washington colleges are compiled from federal datasets and each institution's own reporting.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. Affordable Colleges in Washington. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/affordable-colleges/washington