Which Washington civil engineering program has the lowest debt?

University of Washington reports the lowest median federal debt, $14,874, with first-year pay of $73,357.

How much do civil engineering graduates earn in Washington?

The median across 5 Washington civil engineering bachelor's programs is $73,357 in the first year after graduating and $91,134 five years after.

How many civil engineering bachelor's programs are in Washington?

5 Washington programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

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

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Civil Engineering

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Washington civil engineering bachelor's program pays its graduates $73,357 in their first year, $3,775 more than the national median. Washington State reports the highest first-year pay ($74,841), and University of Washington the lowest median debt ($14,874).

Median first-year pay$73,357National $69,582

Median pay after 5 years$91,134National $85,897

Median federal debt$23,616National $24,500

Debt-to-earnings33%National 35%

All 5 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	Washington StatePullman · public	$74,841	$89,281	$22,450	30%
2	Gonzaga UniversitySpokane · private nonprofit	$74,355	$85,891	$25,000	34%
3	University of WashingtonSeattle · public	$73,357	$93,627	$14,874	20%
4	Saint Martin's UniversityLacey · private nonprofit	$71,601	$92,987	$23,616	33%
5	Seattle UniversitySeattle · private nonprofit	$69,151	Not reported	$24,000	35%

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington civil engineering 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 5 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 civil engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Civil Engineers

$110,000

Median pay in Washington. 12,590 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 22,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $81,840Top 10%: $160,670

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$189,680

Median pay in Washington. 6,060 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $148,930Top 10%: $263,550

Environmental Engineers

$125,460

Median pay in Washington. 1,920 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $80,660Top 10%: $175,610

Petroleum Engineers

$134,800

Median pay in Washington. 190 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $107,690Top 10%: $184,360

Common questions

Washington State in Pullman reports the highest median first-year pay, $74,841. Its median federal debt is $22,450.

Civil Engineering (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked207 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 civil engineering 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