Best Private Colleges in Washington 2026

Badge for BEST IN WASHINGTON PRIVATE COLLEGES

Updated: May 13, 2026

Private colleges, unlike large public institutions, can be a great option for students wanting a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Here is our list of the best private colleges in Washington.

10 Best Private Colleges in Washington in 2026

Seattle University
Gonzaga University
University of Puget Sound
+1
Whitman College
–1
Seattle Pacific University
Pacific Lutheran University
Walla Walla University
+2
Whitworth University
+2
City University of Seattle
–1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
–3

Table of Contents

Colleges and Universities in Washington

Of the 40 public options, the University of Washington in Seattle is the largest. Roughly 40,000 students attend classes in fields like nursing, education, biology, and computer science. This public research institution is also affordable, charging about $11,000 for tuition. In fact, none of the public schools in Washington exceed $12,000 in price. This includes community colleges, technical colleges, and four-year universities, making Washington a uniquely affordable place to earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree.

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Washington also has 24 private institutions. Of those, nine are religious. The most widely known of these, Catholic university Gonzaga enrolls roughly 7,000 students, at a cost of $40,000, in areas such as religious studies, engineering, and law. Central Washington University (CWU) is a smaller public school, serving just over 12,000 students, and has a tuition of $8,000. With 15% of its population being Hispanic, CWU is now recognized as an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution. Washington health professions also have the opportunity to receive funding for loan repayment through Washington’s Health Professional Loan Repayment Program.

Set in the Pacific Northwest, Washington offers ocean beaches and lush forests. In fact, over half the state is covered in forests, earning Washington its nickname as The Evergreen State. Viewers atop the Space Needle in Seattle can take in the sights of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and both the Cascades and Olympic mountain ranges. In addition, prospective students can choose from over 60 higher education institutions in the state.

Check out the top higher education programs and find an affordable degree in Washington.

What are Washington’s Colleges & Universities?

Washington’s Best Overall

What is the difference between public and private colleges?

Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models. Public colleges and universities are owned by the state and receive both state and federal funding to operate. Private colleges and universities are private companies with private funding. If you’re looking at the pros and cons of private vs. public colleges, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.

Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a bachelor’s degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. Attending a college in-state is usually the cheapest option. Private universities and colleges can be very competitive with their funding opportunities, so do not simply believe that private colleges are always going to be more expensive. According to National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually. But in the end, the cost of college comes down to each student’s academic and financial situation.

How do we determine Washington's best private colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees. We’ve identified 15 private universities in Washington. To be included in the list below of the best private universities in Washington, schools must be fully accredited, private, non-profit institution, and must offer a broad range of bachelor’s degrees.

Best Private Colleges in Washington

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Washington’s Best Private Colleges in Your Area Interest

2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2024 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2023. That’s because we took a fundamentally different approach. For 2024 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

Looking for the best private colleges in Washington for 2026? This guide compares the state’s private institutions by academic breadth, program strengths, campus culture, and factors students and families commonly weigh—cost and aid, career outcomes, size, and residential life—so you can quickly identify which schools match your priorities.

Below you’ll find concise profiles highlighting what distinguishes each college and which types of students are likely to thrive there, plus practical tips for narrowing choices and next steps. For broader context, check out our directory of private colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top private schools in every state.

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Best Private Colleges in Washington 2026

10 Best Private Colleges in Washington in 2026

Colleges and Universities in Washington

What are Washington’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Private Colleges in Washington

Last Year’s Ranking:

Career Outlook for degree at Seattle University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Gonzaga University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at University of Puget Sound

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Whitman College

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Seattle Pacific University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Pacific Lutheran University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Walla Walla University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Whitworth University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at City University of Seattle

Career Outlook for degree at DigiPen Institute of Technology

Career Outlook for degree at Saint Martin's University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Northwest University

Most Influential Alumni

Career Outlook for degree at Charter College

Career Outlook for degree at Antioch University Seattle

Career Outlook for degree at Heritage University

Washington’s Best Private Colleges in Your Area Interest