Which Washington music program has the lowest debt?

Northwest University reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,500, with first-year pay of $31,179.

How much do music graduates earn in Washington?

The median across 6 Washington music bachelor's programs is $25,280 in the first year after graduating and $36,824 five years after.

How many music bachelor's programs are in Washington?

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

Music (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 Music

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Washington music bachelor's program pays its graduates $25,280 in their first year, $253 less than the national median. Northwest University reports the highest first-year pay ($31,179), and Northwest University the lowest median debt ($19,500).

Median first-year pay$25,280National $25,532

Median pay after 5 years$36,824National $40,860

Median federal debt$26,000National $26,000

Debt-to-earnings105%National 92%

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	Northwest UniversityKirkland · private nonprofit	$31,179	Not reported	$19,500	63%
2	University of Puget SoundTacoma · private nonprofit	$25,551	$36,824	$27,000	106%
3	Central Washington UniversityEllensburg · public	$25,532	$35,760	$26,000	102%
4	Whitworth UniversitySpokane · private nonprofit	$25,027	$29,144	$26,000	104%
5	Pacific Lutheran UniversityTacoma · private nonprofit	$17,711	$39,968	$26,815	151%
6	Western Washington UniversityBellingham · public	$15,834	$39,419	$20,055	127%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington music 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 music, 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

Sound Engineering Technicians

$73,130

Median pay nationwide. 160 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Music Directors and Composers

$75,060

Median pay in Washington. 260 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $51,230Top 10%: $161,370

Common questions

Northwest University in Kirkland reports the highest median first-year pay, $31,179. Its median federal debt is $19,500.

Music (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked229 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 music 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