College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Western Washington University

WALarge public institution · Overall rank #533 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Western Washington University in the 64th percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Western Washington University is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, whose degree mix is led by Business and Social Sciences. Mobility is well above average, the strongest of the four .

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study. Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them.

The model attributes the gap to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts, and to the factors it measures, which adds. Return is modestly below average, the weakest pillar.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is well above average. The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the social sciences or humanities should go in knowing that the largest program is not the best-paid one.

They should also know that the highest earnings come from a smaller set of technical fields.

Western Washington University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
93.2%
Six-year completion[2]
64.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$58,560

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$17,539
Median student debt[4]
$18,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$23,123

Western Washington University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Western Washington University is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, with an undergraduate enrollment of 13,544. Its composite standing is in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (64th percentile).

The university admits 93.2% of applicants, a rate above the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 79.4% return for a second year and 64.6% finish within six years.

These figures sit against peer medians of 83.1% and 65.0%, respectively. An estimated 24.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so a substantial portion of the student body did not begin their studies here.

The four pillars show a clear shape: mobility is the strongest, at the 84th percentile, while return is the weakest, at the 36th percentile. Access and affordability sit between them, at the 53rd and 63rd percentiles respectively.

The pattern is a broad-access public campus where the strongest outcome is the one tied to who it serves rather than what graduates earn.

Western Washington University stands out most on mobility, though its return results are the weakest part of the profile. Azimuth places mobility in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Affordability is in the 63rd percentile, and access is in the 53rd percentile. Return is in the 36th percentile, the lowest of the four pillars.

High mobility alongside a lower return result makes the overall picture uneven rather than uniformly strong.

20.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Among enrolled students who submitted scores, the middle 50% of SAT results fell between 1,150 and 1,390.

The middle 50% of ACT results fell between 24 and 31. Azimuth ranks the university #695 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 65.5%, a rate that exceeds the overall six-year graduation figure (64.6%) by 0.9 percentage points. Azimuth ranks the university #236 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,882 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Western Washington University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#533

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 84
Access & reach
National percentile: 53
Affordability
National percentile: 63
Return on investment
National percentile: 36

01 / Western Washington University briefing

Western Washington University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Costs for aid recipients run higher than the comparable-institution benchmark, even after average aid is applied. At Western Washington University, the standard published budget is $30,359.

In-state tuition and fees are $9,582, out-of-state tuition and fees are $28,707, and room and board are $15,747. For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $21,193, with average financial aid savings of $9,166 against the published cost.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634; this university is $5,559 above that figure. Azimuth places its affordability pillar in the 63rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The aid-recipient cost remains above the peer benchmark despite the average savings.

Western Washington University has a published cost of attendance of $30,359, and aid recipients face different average prices across family-income bands. In the lowest family-income band, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,915; it is $14,147 in the lower-middle band, $17,539 in the middle band, $24,301 in the upper-middle band, and $27,984 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $15,069. Azimuth ranks Western Washington University #527 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 30% of the published cost, an average savings of $9,166. Across all aid recipients, the is $21,193, which is $5,559 above the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published in-state tuition is $9,582, and out-of-state tuition is $28,707. Aid offsets part of the sticker price, though the overall average net price sits above the comparable-institution median.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $18,500, and 83.8% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That median is $1,576 below the $20,076 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $23,123.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$17,539

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Western Washington University

For completers who borrowed federal loans, median federal student loan debt is $18,500, which is $1,576 below the $20,076 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Federal loans are used by 83.8% of federal aid recipients.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $23,123.

Western Washington University has its strongest Azimuth pillar in mobility, but the investment picture is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $58,560 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings level in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is less favorable here.

Graduates earn about $3,882 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places this measure in the 40th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios range from $43,952 in a downside scenario to $81,505 in an upside scenario, with $58,560 as the typical scenario. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $18,500, $1,576 below the $20,076 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years. Lower debt does not offset the below-expected earnings picture.

Parent borrowers at Western Washington University had median Parent PLUS borrowing of $23,123. For student borrowers, the median federal debt cited above corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$18,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$23,123

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$210/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$294/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Western Washington University briefing

Western Washington University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Mobility is the stronger pillar, but return is less favorable: Azimuth places Western Washington University in the 36th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Completers earn about $3,882 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, sit in the 40th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,199.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,081. Median earnings are $58,560 four years after completion, in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610; the university is $7,050 below.

Western Washington University shows median earnings of $58,560 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that measure in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 3,318 completers.

The program-mix model sets its typical earnings scenario at $58,560. It is a scenario rather than an observed graduate group, and it provides a schoolwide reference point alongside the reported median.

An estimated 33.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings percentile and typical scenario both point to a middle-range earnings result rather than a standout return outcome.

Mobility is the stronger Azimuth pillar for Western Washington University, while its return figures are mixed. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled had median earnings of $58,560 four years after completion, placing the figure in the 45th percentile.

That was $7,050 below the peer median of $65,610, the middle value for comparable institutions in the same type and size. Graduates earn about $3,882 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 40th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,199.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,081. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,027.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $43,952 on the downside to $81,505 on the upside. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 36th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer comparison and model reading point in the same direction. Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning listed program, with 151 degrees awarded and median earnings of $110,138 four years after completion.

Psychology, the largest listed program, awarded 220 degrees, with median earnings of $53,224 four years after completion. The named fields do not share one earnings pattern.

The modeled range is wide at Western Washington University, from a downside earnings scenario of $43,952 to an upside scenario of $81,505. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

Program medians four years after completion show part of that spread: Computer and Information Sciences reports $110,138, Nursing reports $96,695, and Polymer/Plastics Engineering reports $92,439. Those field-level results make the scenario range more concrete.

Western Washington University has a mixed debt-and-earnings picture for borrowers. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $18,500.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $20,076, and the university’s debt sits below it by $1,576. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.

It is a borrower measure, so it does not describe borrowing for every graduate. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, have median debt of $23,123.

Earnings beyond expectations are the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. Those earnings are less favorable: Graduates earn about $3,882 less than the model expects for similar students.

Lower borrower debt and earnings below the model’s expectation pull in opposite directions.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,199
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,081
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$3,882

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Western Washington University briefing

Western Washington University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Admission is broadly available in the reported applicant pool at Western Washington University, where the admission rate is 93.2%. That rate sits against the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size), so the school admitted a larger share of applicants than its comparison group.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
93.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1150
Reported average
1289
Approximate upper endpoint
1390

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Western Washington University briefing

What are the largest majors at Western Washington University?[12]

At Western Washington University, program-level earnings range from higher-paying technical and health fields to more moderate outcomes in large social-science and writing fields. Computer and Information Sciences reports median earnings of $110,138 four years after completion, with 151 degrees awarded.

Nursing follows at $96,695 across 15 degrees awarded. The contrast is clearest against larger programs with more moderate earnings.

Psychology had $53,224 in median earnings four years after completion and 220 degrees awarded. Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies recorded $38,460 with 136 degrees awarded.

The program mix therefore presents materially different earnings pictures by field.

Among the largest bachelor’s programs, published earnings vary widely four years after completion, and 50 fields have earnings data.

The degree mix at Western Washington University is spread across the social sciences, business, and education, with no single family dominating the undergraduate catalog. Business accounts for 12.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed closely by Social Sciences at 10.8% and Education at 7.7%.

The largest single program is Psychology, at 220 degrees awarded, with Natural Resources Conservation and Research next at 209 and Computer and Information Sciences at 151. Across all fields, 16.2% of degrees are in STEM, and 50 programs have published four-year earnings data.

The strongest earnings outcomes are concentrated in technical and professional fields, and the highest-earning program is also one of the largest. Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $110,138 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.19x against the national median for its field.

Nursing is a much smaller program at 15 degrees awarded, with median earnings of $96,695 and a benchmark ratio of 1.09x. Polymer/Plastics Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering, two engineering fields, award 19 and 18 degrees a year respectively, with medians of $92,439 and $85,314.

The pattern is one of a broad-access public university where the largest programs are not the best-paid ones. Psychology, the biggest program, carries a benchmark ratio of 1.05x, while Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, the fourth-largest at 136 degrees awarded, has a median of $38,460 and a benchmark ratio of 0.79x. The highest-earning program earns nearly three times that median.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 220 degrees awarded
$53,224
Natural Resources Conservation and Research 209 degrees awarded
$53,781
Computer and Information Sciences, General 151 degrees awarded
$110,138
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies 136 degrees awarded
$38,460
Sociology 117 degrees awarded
$54,263
Business Administration, Management and Operations 116 degrees awarded
$71,886

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Western Washington University briefing

How does Western Washington University serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion anchors Western Washington University's mobility picture: the first-time, full-time cohort has a 64.6% six-year graduation rate, and Pell recipients complete within six years at 65.5%, above the overall rate by 0.9 percentage points. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth puts the mobility pillar in the 84th percentile.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 40th percentile. Graduates earn about $3,882 less than the model expects for similar students. Strong completion sits alongside earnings below the model's expectation.

At Western Washington University, a 93.2% admission rate and undergraduate enrollment of 13,544 undergraduates frame an access picture with broad entry and a sizable campus population. Pell Grant recipients account for 20.9% of undergraduates, and an estimated 24.7% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These measures describe both admission and the routes undergraduates take into the university.

06 / Western Washington University briefing

What colleges are similar to Western Washington University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Western Washington University.

Admissions peerPoint Loma Nazarene University83.7% admitted
Comparison with Western Washington University
MeasureWestern Washington UniversityPoint Loma Nazarene University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,560$72,880+$14,320 vs Western Washington University
Average annual net price$21,193$38,729+$17,536 vs Western Washington University · higher cost
Admission rate93.2%83.7%
Explore Point Loma Nazarene University →
Nearby alternativeNorthwest UniversityNearby option · WA
Comparison with Western Washington University
MeasureWestern Washington UniversityNorthwest University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,560$58,404-$156 vs Western Washington University
Average annual net price$21,193$22,288+$1,095 vs Western Washington University · higher cost
Admission rate93.2%83.2%
Higher-earnings alternativeCal Poly Maritime Academy$108,757 earnings
Comparison with Western Washington University
MeasureWestern Washington UniversityCal Poly Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,560$108,757+$50,197 vs Western Washington University
Average annual net price$21,193$20,555-$638 vs Western Washington University · lower cost
Admission rate93.2%95.0%
Explore Cal Poly Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeCalifornia State University-Los Angeles$3,967 average net price
Comparison with Western Washington University
MeasureWestern Washington UniversityCalifornia State University-Los Angeles
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,560$59,756+$1,196 vs Western Washington University
Average annual net price$21,193$3,967-$17,226 vs Western Washington University · lower cost
Admission rate93.2%91.3%
Explore California State University-Los Angeles →
Similar profileMetropolitan State University of DenverMatched across several measures
Comparison with Western Washington University
MeasureWestern Washington UniversityMetropolitan State University of Denver
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,560$60,186+$1,626 vs Western Washington University
Average annual net price$21,193$15,327-$5,866 vs Western Washington University · lower cost
Admission rate93.2%98.8%
Explore Metropolitan State University of Denver →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings