Which Washington political science program has the lowest debt?

University of Washington reports the lowest median federal debt, $14,000, with first-year pay of $41,246.

How much do political science graduates earn in Washington?

The median across 12 Washington political science bachelor's programs is $36,197 in the first year after graduating and $61,086 five years after.

How many political science bachelor's programs are in Washington?

12 Washington programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 12 of them also report federal debt.

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

12 programs report first-year pay
12 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Political Science and Government

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Washington political science bachelor's program pays its graduates $36,197 in their first year, $713 more than the national median. Whitworth University reports the highest first-year pay ($43,933), and University of Washington the lowest median debt ($14,000).

Median first-year pay$36,197National $35,484

Median pay after 5 years$61,086National $61,481

Median federal debt$20,931National $23,500

Debt-to-earnings59%National 65%

All 12 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	Whitworth UniversitySpokane · private nonprofit	$43,933	$72,166	$22,624	51%
2	Pacific Lutheran UniversityTacoma · private nonprofit	$41,518	Not reported	$20,250	49%
3	Seattle UniversitySeattle · private nonprofit	$41,474	$64,112	$20,449	49%
4	University of WashingtonSeattle · public	$41,246	$68,104	$14,000	34%
5	Washington StatePullman · public	$41,130	$61,086	$23,250	57%
6	Central Washington UniversityEllensburg · public	$39,220	$61,390	$16,936	43%
7	Eastern Washington UniversityCheney · public	$33,173	$52,525	$21,412	65%
8	Seattle Pacific UniversitySeattle · private nonprofit	$32,288	$53,066	$26,775	83%
9	University of Puget SoundTacoma · private nonprofit	$31,290	$57,451	$22,801	73%
10	Whitman CollegeWalla Walla · private nonprofit	$27,689	$50,141	$16,750	60%
11	Western Washington UniversityBellingham · public	$27,217	$56,069	$19,431	71%
12	Gonzaga UniversitySpokane · private nonprofit	$26,915	$71,779	$23,124	86%

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington political science 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 12 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 political science, 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

Social Science Research Assistants

$50,420

Median pay in Washington. 450 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,530Top 10%: $75,720

Economists

$109,300

Median pay in Washington. 450 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $80,320Top 10%: $167,960

Political Scientists

$147,060

Median pay in Washington. 110 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $81,310Top 10%: $214,960

Common questions

Whitworth University in Spokane reports the highest median first-year pay, $43,933. Its median federal debt is $22,624.

Political Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked504 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 political science 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