Metro area directory
Colleges in the Greater Seattle Area
CampusPin lists 26 colleges and universities across the Greater Seattle metro, 24 universities and 2 community colleges, with 11 public and 15 private institutions across 5 cities.
Greater Seattle covers the city plus Bellevue, Tacoma, and the surrounding Puget Sound communities. The region combines public research and regional universities with private institutions and community and technical colleges.
Greater Seattle colleges by the numbers
- Public / private
- 11 public · 15 private
- 4-year / 2-year
- 24 universities · 2 community colleges
- Cities covered
- 5
- Largest by enrollment
- University of Washington-Seattle Campus
- Lowest published tuition
- Bellevue College ($4,305)
- Published tuition range
- $4,305–$59,900
Among the 26 colleges in the Greater Seattle area, University of Washington-Seattle Campus is the largest by enrollment; Bellevue College has the lowest published in-state tuition at $4,305; University of Washington-Seattle Campus is the most selective at a 43% acceptance rate. Published figures are sticker price, not net price, compare net price and outcomes on each profile.
Local labor market
Across all occupations in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an annual median wage of $67,510 (2,082,610 jobs), in its May 2024 OEWS estimate. This is a whole-economy figure for the metro, not a starting salary or a graduate or field-specific wage, but it is a useful gauge of local pay levels and cost of living when weighing colleges here.
Local pay for common roles
Annual median wage in this metro for occupations tied to popular majors (BLS OEWS, May 2024).
- Software Developers$169,340
- General and Operations Managers$141,280
- Registered Nurses$118,570
- Mechanical Engineers$117,930
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$99,970
- Accountants and Auditors$99,380
Local pay reflects the metro labor market, not what any one college's graduates earn. For how a school's cost lines up with student outcomes, see college cost vs. graduation and earnings.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024, all occupations (SOC 00-0000), CBSA 42660.
Colleges by city in the Greater Seattle area
Seattle (13)
- Antioch University-SeattleUniv · Private
- City University of SeattleUniv · Private
- Cornish College of the ArtsUniv · Private
- North Seattle CollegeUniv · Public
- Pima Medical Institute-SeattleCC · Private
- Seattle Central CollegeUniv · Public
- Seattle Film InstituteUniv · Private
- Seattle Institute of East Asian MedicineUniv · Private
- Seattle Pacific UniversityUniv · Private
- Seattle UniversityUniv · Private
- South Seattle CollegeUniv · Public
- The Seattle School of Theology & PsychologyUniv · Private
- University of Washington-Seattle CampusUniv · Public
Tacoma (7)
Kirkland (3)
Bellevue (1)
Compare and search across the Greater Seattle area
Filter every Washington college by tuition, size, acceptance rate, and setting, then pin and compare your shortlist side by side, no account required.
Other major U.S. metro areas
Data sources & methodology
College listings for the Greater Seattle metro are aggregated live from each institution's record, compiled from federal datasets and the institutions' own published information.
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. Colleges in the Greater Seattle Area. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/colleges-in-metro/seattle