Which Washington accounting program has the lowest debt?

University of Washington reports the lowest median federal debt, $17,083, with first-year pay of $62,731.

How much do accounting graduates earn in Washington?

The median across 8 Washington accounting bachelor's programs is $60,535 in the first year after graduating and $78,887 five years after.

How many accounting bachelor's programs are in Washington?

8 Washington programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Accounting (Bachelor's) Programs in Washington, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

8 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Washington accounting bachelor's program pays its graduates $60,535 in their first year, $6,476 more than the national median. Seattle University reports the highest first-year pay ($70,570), and University of Washington the lowest median debt ($17,083).

Median first-year pay$60,535National $54,059

Median pay after 5 years$78,887National $71,308

Median federal debt$22,151National $24,958

Debt-to-earnings34%National 45%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Seattle UniversitySeattle · private nonprofit	$70,570	$102,504	$23,734	34%
2	Gonzaga UniversitySpokane · private nonprofit	$69,440	$96,389	$24,250	35%
3	University of WashingtonSeattle · public	$62,731	$87,336	$17,083	27%
4	Whitworth UniversitySpokane · private nonprofit	$61,021	$80,683	$27,000	44%
5	Western Washington UniversityBellingham · public	$60,048	$76,780	$20,567	34%
6	Washington StatePullman · public	$57,618	$77,091	$25,000	43%
7	Central Washington UniversityEllensburg · public	$55,215	$73,436	$17,650	32%
8	Eastern Washington UniversityCheney · public	$52,665	$63,345	$18,000	34%

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington accounting program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Washington medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$96,550

Median pay in Washington. 34,740 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $66,330Top 10%: $152,310

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$58,620

Median pay in Washington. 32,930 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,070Top 10%: $77,630

Financial Managers

$174,840

Median pay in Washington. 12,930 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $115,250Top 10%: $318,450

Financial and Investment Analysts

$107,210

Median pay in Washington. 8,820 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,810Top 10%: $167,790

Common questions

Seattle University in Seattle reports the highest median first-year pay, $70,570. Its median federal debt is $23,734.

Accounting (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Washington rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the accounting bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024