Which Washington history program has the lowest debt?

University of Washington reports the lowest median federal debt, $15,000, with first-year pay of $26,261.

How much do history graduates earn in Washington?

The median across 6 Washington history bachelor's programs is $30,565 in the first year after graduating and $55,427 five years after.

How many history bachelor's programs are in Washington?

6 Washington programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

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

6 programs report first-year pay
6 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in History

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Washington history bachelor's program pays its graduates $30,565 in their first year, $1,146 less than the national median. Eastern Washington University reports the highest first-year pay ($36,126), and University of Washington the lowest median debt ($15,000).

Median first-year pay$30,565National $31,710

Median pay after 5 years$55,427National $50,314

Median federal debt$23,804National $23,973

Debt-to-earnings69%National 73%

All 6 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	Eastern Washington UniversityCheney · public	$36,126	$44,411	$23,608	65%
2	Central Washington UniversityEllensburg · public	$35,747	Not reported	$25,250	71%
3	Washington StatePullman · public	$31,220	$56,656	$24,000	77%
4	University of Puget SoundTacoma · private nonprofit	$29,909	Not reported	$20,500	69%
5	University of WashingtonSeattle · public	$26,261	$54,198	$15,000	57%
6	Western Washington UniversityBellingham · public	$25,355	$45,193	$17,860	70%

2 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington history 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 6 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 history, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$102,670

Median pay in Washington. 14,880 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $62,950Top 10%: $128,410

Natural Sciences Managers

$182,480

Median pay in Washington. 2,490 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $117,590Top 10%: $324,740

Tour and Travel Guides

$54,160

Median pay in Washington. 1,420 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $37,540Top 10%: $76,790

Museum Technicians and Conservators

$59,610

Median pay in Washington. 280 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $42,430Top 10%: $77,650

Common questions

Eastern Washington University in Cheney reports the highest median first-year pay, $36,126. Its median federal debt is $23,608.

History (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked370 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 history 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