Public · University
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington · Distant town
- 86.6%
- Admit rate
- $14,971
- Avg net price
- 61%
- Graduation rate
- $68,905
- Median earnings
Washington State University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Pullman, Washington (distant town setting), enrolling 21,099 undergraduates.
About Pullman, Washington
Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. In 1876, about five years after European-American settlers established Whitman County on November 29, 1871, Bolin Farr arrived in Pullman. He camped at the confluence of Dry Flat Creek and Missouri Flat Creek on the bank of the Palouse River. Since 1989, Pullman has been home to the National Lentil Festival, a major community event celebrating the lentil legume grown in the surrounding Palouse region. The festival includes a lentil cook-off, Friday night street fair, Saturday parade and music in the park, and more. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Distant town
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 65 miles to Spokane, WA
- To the ocean
- 247 miles
- Nearest airport
- 2 miles to Pullman-Moscow (PUW)
How Washington State University compares
More selective than 31% · #13 most selective of 21 in Washington
Higher than 61% · #14 of 25 in Washington
Higher than 57%
Higher than 82% · #9 of 27 in Washington
Cheaper than 73% · #6 cheapest of 25 in Washington
Lower than 78%
Lower than 35%
Larger than 95%
Percentiles compare Washington State University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Washington.
Washington State University campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate21,09983%
- Graduate4,23017%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women12,11757%
- Men8,98243%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White57%
- Black3.2%
- Hispanic19%
- Asian6.8%
- Other or multiracial14%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 21,099
- Graduate enrollment
- 4,230
- Student–faculty ratio
- 15 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 27%
- First-generation students
- 34%
- Students over 25
- 15%
- Median family income
- $44,850
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $101,097
- Endowment
- $1,383,078,164
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 4,249 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Washington83%
- Other U.S. states16%
- International1.3%
Most first-years stay in state — Washington State University draws overwhelmingly from Washington.
1% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 86.6%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
- Average GPA
- 3.44
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $13,391
- Out-of-state tuition
- $29,950
- Room & board
- $13,622
- Books & supplies
- $762
- Total cost of attendance
- $27,648
- Average net price
- $14,971
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 61%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 41%
- First-year retention
- 78%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $53,510
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $68,905
- Median debt at graduation
- $19,500
- Students with federal loans
- 30%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 66%
About 19% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 7,029
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 33%
- Housing charge (year)
- $8,601
- Meal plan (year)
- $4,560
- Application fee
- $70
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FBS
- Football conference
- Pacific-12 Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 552 (286 men · 266 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (10)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.8 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 84
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 53
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 12 campuses (25,685 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$11,519/year × about 4.5 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 83% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,471. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 3,897 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $68,905
- Typical debt at graduation
- $19,500
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 28%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 73%
Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $14,058 (22%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 85°F
- Winter low
- 25°F
- Annual rain
- 20.4″
- Annual snow
- 32.7″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Pullman 2 NW, WA US station (2.4 mi from campus).
What Washington State University graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Washington State University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Washington State University side by side →
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah · Midsize city · 2 mi to Salt Lake City
- Students
- 27,264
- Admission
- 86%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1257
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $67k
Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey · Large suburb · 14 mi to New York
- Students
- 18,376
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1070
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $61k
Towson University
Towson, Maryland · Small city · 7 mi to Baltimore
- Students
- 16,136
- Admission
- 82%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1095
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $64k
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Minneapolis, Minnesota · Large city · 1 mi to Minneapolis
- Students
- 31,855
- Admission
- 80%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1362
- GPA
- 3.7
- Earnings
- $69k
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa · Small city · 30 mi to Des Moines
- Students
- 25,367
- Admission
- 89%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1204
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $63k
California State University-Chico
Chico, California · Midsize city · 82 mi to Sacramento
- Students
- 13,631
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $64k
Colleges near Washington State University
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID · Public · Bachelor's · 7,747 students
New Saint Andrews College
Moscow, ID · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 305 students
Headmasters School of Hair Design
Lewiston, ID · Private for-profit · Certificate · 92 students
Lewis-Clark State College
Lewiston, ID · Public · Bachelor's · 2,385 students
Eastern Washington University
Cheney, WA · Public · Bachelor's · 6,222 students
Paul Mitchell the School-Spokane
Spokane Valley, WA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 296 students
Studio Beauty School
Spokane Valley, WA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 81 students
Carrington College-Spokane
Spokane, WA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 352 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.














