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Colleges and International Students in Washington

IPEDS (US Department of Education) and SEVIS data

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Colleges

92

11 in the 2027 U.S. News rankings

Students

334,864

2025 school year

International

18,263

5.5% of students

Students in SEVIS

21,373

10/2026 · 27.1% from China

Where international students come from

In 10/2026, Washington had 21,373 active F and M students. The table lists the 15 largest countries and places of origin. STEM counts come from a separate SEVIS STEM table with a different basis, so for a few countries they exceed the total.

Country or placeStudentsShareSTEM students
China 5,789 27.1% 5,721
India 2,603 12.2% 8,180
Vietnam 2,076 9.7% 903
Taiwan 1,048 4.9% 876
South Korea 969 4.5% 596
Japan 816 3.8% 167
Canada 609 2.8% 387
Indonesia 562 2.6% 398
Kenya 550 2.6% 175
Brazil 483 2.3% 133
Mongolia 333 1.6% 164
Congo (kinshasa) 262 1.2% 131
Nepal 249 1.2% 221
Bangladesh 239 1.1% 232
Thailand 232 1.1% 153
Students in SEVIS by year (last month of each year)

ChinaOther countries

International STEM students by level and gender

In 10/2026, 21,451 international students in Washington were in STEM fields, about 100% of the state's total; 56% men, 44% women

LevelStudentsShareMenWomenWomenFrom China
Bachelor's 5,167
2,933 2,234 43.2% 1,586
Master's 12,060
6,524 5,536 45.9% 2,843
Doctoral 3,213
2,016 1,197 37.3% 1,236
Associate 946
605 341 36.0% 41
Other 65
27 38 58.5% 15

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security SEVIS STEM data (active F and M students in fields on the STEM list). Other includes language, vocational and secondary programs.

International students by year

International undergraduate and graduate students (IPEDS fall enrollment)

UndergraduateGraduate

Students by group, 2025
White
41.2%
Asian
10.9%
Hispanic
16.6%
Black
4.8%
Other
21.0%
Intl.
5.5%

From 2013 to 2025, international students fell 1% and their share of students went from 5.2% to 5.5%.

Where first-year students come from and go

In fall 2024, colleges in Washington enrolled 44,441 first-year students from the state and 6,382 from other states; 14,951 first-year students from the state went to college elsewhere.

Out-of-state first-years come from
California
1,823
Oregon
1,093
Hawaii
394
Idaho
389
Colorado
373
Texas
300
Alaska
184
Montana
183
Arizona
173
Utah
132
In-state first-years leave for
California
2,335
Oregon
2,089
Arizona
1,825
Idaho
1,210
Utah
848
Montana
696
New York
538
Colorado
495
Massachusetts
375
Texas
311

Colleges in Washington

All 92 colleges recognized by the US Department of Education; counts are fall enrollment for the 2025 school year.

RankSchoolCityTypeStudentsInternationalInternational share
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle Public, 4-year 56,997 7,963 14.0%
#191 Washington State University Pullman Public, 4-year 25,685 1,290 5.0%
#179 Seattle University Seattle Private nonprofit, 4-year 7,189 862 12.0%
— Green River College Auburn Public, 4-year 7,967 854 10.7%
— Bellevue College Bellevue Public, 4-year 12,485 839 6.7%
— Seattle Central College Seattle Public, 4-year 5,396 660 12.2%
— Shoreline College Shoreline Public, 4-year 4,477 615 13.7%
— Edmonds College Lynnwood Public, 4-year 6,549 520 7.9%
#90 Gonzaga University Spokane Private nonprofit, 4-year 7,470 404 5.4%
— University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell Public, 4-year 6,058 298 4.9%
— Highline College Des Moines Public, 4-year 5,592 281 5.0%
— Lake Washington Institute of Technology Kirkland Public, 4-year 3,564 235 6.6%
— North Seattle College Seattle Public, 4-year 5,569 233 4.2%
LAC #78 Whitman College Walla Walla Private nonprofit, 4-year 1,561 220 14.1%
— University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma Public, 4-year 4,965 208 4.2%
— Tacoma Community College Tacoma Public, 4-year 6,199 203 3.3%
— Central Washington University Ellensburg Public, 4-year 10,811 197 1.8%
#262 Seattle Pacific University Seattle Private nonprofit, 4-year 2,261 179 7.9%
— Everett Community College Everett Public, 4-year 6,698 174 2.6%
— Western Washington University Bellingham Public, 4-year 14,710 172 1.2%
— Pierce College District Lakewood Public, 4-year 8,137 155 1.9%
— Cascadia College Bothell Public, 4-year 2,380 154 6.5%
— Walla Walla University College Place Private nonprofit, 4-year 1,426 145 10.2%
— City University of Seattle Seattle Private nonprofit, 4-year 2,007 140 7.0%
— DigiPen Institute of Technology Redmond Private for-profit, 4-year 1,084 136 12.5%
— Northwest University Kirkland Private nonprofit, 4-year 1,053 136 12.9%
LAC #106 Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma Private nonprofit, 4-year 2,797 118 4.2%
LAC #111 Whitworth University Spokane Private nonprofit, 4-year 2,314 109 4.7%
— South Seattle College Seattle Public, 4-year 5,210 93 1.8%
#365 Eastern Washington University Cheney Public, 4-year 10,492 63 0.6%
— Spokane Community College Spokane Public, 4-year 6,813 62 0.9%
— Saint Martin's University Lacey Private nonprofit, 4-year 1,390 61 4.4%
— South Puget Sound Community College Olympia Public, 4-year 4,871 56 1.1%
— Clark College Vancouver Public, 4-year 7,463 54 0.7%
— Olympic College Bremerton Public, 4-year 5,784 53 0.9%
— Spokane Falls Community College Spokane Public, 4-year 4,319 37 0.9%
— Peninsula College Port Angeles Public, 4-year 2,153 37 1.7%
— Lower Columbia College Longview Public, 4-year 2,724 27 1.0%
— Whatcom Community College Bellingham Public, 4-year 3,674 25 0.7%
— Clover Park Technical College Lakewood Public, 4-year 3,408 22 0.6%
— Bastyr University Kenmore Private nonprofit, 4-year 734 20 2.7%
— Antioch University-Seattle Seattle Private nonprofit, 4-year 771 19 2.5%
— Skagit Valley College Mount Vernon Public, 4-year 4,028 17 0.4%
— Big Bend Community College Moses Lake Public, 4-year 1,857 12 0.6%
— Perry Technical Institute Yakima Private nonprofit, 2-year 1,072 12 1.1%
LAC #100 University of Puget Sound Tacoma Private nonprofit, 4-year 1,864 10 0.5%
— Columbia Basin College Pasco Public, 4-year 7,510 9 0.1%
— Bates Technical College Tacoma Public, 4-year 4,083 9 0.2%
— Faith International University Tacoma Private nonprofit, 4-year 464 8 1.7%
— Renton Technical College Renton Public, 4-year 2,824 7 0.2%
— Northwest University-Center for Online and Extended Education Kirkland Private nonprofit, 4-year 1,352 7 0.5%
— Seattle Film Institute Seattle Private for-profit, 4-year 85 7 8.2%
LAC #170 The Evergreen State College Olympia Public, 4-year 2,490 6 0.2%
— Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla Public, 4-year 2,967 4 0.1%
— Heritage University Toppenish Private nonprofit, 4-year 937 4 0.4%
— Academy of Interactive Entertainment Seattle Private nonprofit, 2-year 47 4 8.5%
— Centralia College Centralia Public, 4-year 2,244 3 0.1%
— Bellingham Technical College Bellingham Public, 4-year 2,047 3 0.1%
— Yakima Valley College Yakima Public, 4-year 3,809 2 0.1%
— Wenatchee Valley College Wenatchee Public, 4-year 3,067 2 0.1%
— Carrington College-Spokane Spokane Private for-profit, 2-year 353 2 0.6%
— Aveda Institute Portland-Vancouver Campus Vancouver — 122 2 1.6%
— Northwest Indian College Bellingham Public, 4-year 636 1 0.2%
— Paul Mitchell the School-Richland Richland — 256 1 0.4%
— Divers Institute of Technology Seattle — 198 1 0.5%
— Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building Port Hadlock Private nonprofit, 2-year 50 1 2.0%
— Grays Harbor College Aberdeen Public, 4-year 1,577 0 0.0%
— Evergreen Beauty and Barber College-Everett Everett — 1,172 0 0.0%
— UEI College-Tacoma Tacoma — 689 0 0.0%
— Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences Yakima Private nonprofit, 4-year 665 0 0.0%
— Pima Medical Institute-Seattle Seattle Private for-profit, 2-year 471 0 0.0%
— Pima Medical Institute-Renton Renton Private for-profit, 2-year 456 0 0.0%
— Paul Mitchell the School-Spokane Spokane Valley — 296 0 0.0%
— The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology Seattle Private nonprofit, 4-year 243 0 0.0%
— Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Seattle Seattle — 154 0 0.0%
— Paul Mitchell the School-Federal Way Federal Way — 147 0 0.0%
— International Beauty Education Center Spokane — 146 0 0.0%
— Whitworth University-Adult Degree Programs Spokane Private nonprofit, 4-year 145 0 0.0%
— Northwest College of Art & Design Tacoma Private for-profit, 4-year 139 0 0.0%
— Summit Salon Academy Tacoma Private for-profit, 2-year 138 0 0.0%
— Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy-Shoreline Shoreline — 131 0 0.0%
— Pacific Northwest Christian College Kennewick Private nonprofit, 2-year 130 0 0.0%
— Elite Cosmetology, Barber & Spa Academy Yakima — 118 0 0.0%
— Centralia Beauty College Centralia — 90 0 0.0%
— Studio Beauty School Spokane Valley — 81 0 0.0%
— Stylemaster College of Hair Design Longview — 50 0 0.0%
— Northwest HVAC/R Training Center Spokane — 50 0 0.0%
— Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine Seattle Private nonprofit, 4-year 50 0 0.0%
— Great Northern University Spokane Private nonprofit, 4-year 48 0 0.0%
— BJ's Beauty & Barber College Tacoma — 40 0 0.0%
— Zorganics Institute of Beauty and Wellness Bellingham — 35 0 0.0%
— Victoria's Academy of Cosmetology Kennewick — 34 0 0.0%

College tuition in Washington

Undergraduate tuition and fees at four-year colleges, 2025

CollegesMedianLowestHighestU.S. median
Public (in-state) 42 $5,288 $4,365 $13,391 $8,620
Public (out-of-state) 42 $7,837 $4,365 $43,404 $17,909
Private nonprofit 15 $40,407 $8,850 $64,050 $34,200
On-campus room and board 33 $15,730 $5,500 $18,405 $12,830

Public and private nonprofit four-year colleges with at least 100 undergraduates. International students pay out-of-state tuition (private colleges charge everyone the same). Source: U.S. Department of Education.

Climate and Cost of Living in Washington

Price index (U.S. = 100)107.0housing 126.0
Median one-bedroom rent$1,568U.S. $1,235
Median household income$98,141U.S. $80,734
Asian residents9.8%U.S. 6.0%
Foreign-born residents15%U.S. 14%

Cities with the most students

City Coldest month Warmest month Snow per year (in) One-bedroom rent Asian residents
Seattle 37 ~ 50°F 57 ~ 77°F 4 $1,899 18%
Pullman 25 ~ 37°F 50 ~ 85°F 33 $904 9.5%
Auburn 35 ~ 47°F 57 ~ 78°F 6 $1,583 12%
Bellevue 37 ~ 47°F 57 ~ 78°F 4 $2,330 43%
Shoreline 37 ~ 50°F 57 ~ 77°F 4 $1,641 15%
Spokane 26 ~ 37°F 56 ~ 87°F 45 $963 2.6%
Tacoma 36 ~ 46°F 54 ~ 76°F 0 $1,417 9.6%
Lynnwood 36 ~ 45°F 55 ~ 73°F 4 $1,505 19%
Bothell 37 ~ 50°F 57 ~ 77°F 4 $2,072 20%
Kirkland 37 ~ 50°F 57 ~ 77°F 4 $2,139 19%

Data: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2020–2024; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities, 2024; NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Temperatures are the average low to average high of the coldest and warmest months. Rent is the median gross rent (utilities included) across all renters; asking rents for new leases are usually higher. Small cities use county figures.

Cities in Washington

CityCollegesStudentsInternational
Seattle 15 86,648 10,161
Pullman 1 25,685 1,290
Auburn 1 7,967 854
Bellevue 1 12,485 839
Shoreline 2 4,608 615
Spokane 9 21,658 614
Tacoma 10 21,378 556
Lynnwood 1 6,549 520
Bothell 2 8,438 452
Kirkland 3 5,969 378
Des Moines 1 5,592 281
Walla Walla 2 4,528 224
Bellingham 5 21,102 201
Ellensburg 1 10,811 197
Lakewood 2 11,545 177
Everett 2 7,870 174
College Place 1 1,426 145
Redmond 1 1,084 136
Cheney 1 10,492 63
Olympia 2 7,361 62
Lacey 1 1,390 61
Vancouver 2 7,585 56
Bremerton 1 5,784 53
Port Angeles 1 2,153 37
Longview 2 2,774 27
Kenmore 1 734 20
Mount Vernon 1 4,028 17
Yakima 4 5,664 14
Moses Lake 1 1,857 12
Pasco 1 7,510 9
Renton 2 3,280 7
Toppenish 1 937 4
Centralia 2 2,334 3
Wenatchee 1 3,067 2
Richland 1 256 1
Port Hadlock 1 50 1
Aberdeen 1 1,577 0
Spokane Valley 2 377 0
Kennewick 2 164 0
Federal Way 1 147 0

Students and first-year residence: IPEDS Fall Enrollment, US Department of Education (latest 2025 school year). Countries of origin: SEVIS by the Numbers, US Department of Homeland Security. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges.