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Community colleges in Washington

There are 28 two-year, predominantly associate-degree-granting community colleges in Washington reporting to the U.S. Department of Education. Median published in-state tuition across the state is $5,252 per academic year — among the most affordable postsecondary options anywhere in the country.

This page is a working directory: every institution links to a full profile with cost, enrollment, completion, and transfer numbers. The lists below highlight the most affordable, the largest, and the most transfer-active campuses in Washington, drawn from the same Department of Education data four-year admissions offices use to evaluate incoming transfer applicants. If you are weighing a community-college start before continuing to a four-year program, the transfer rate column is the single most useful comparison.

Most affordable in-state tuition in Washington

  1. Olympic CollegeBremerton$4,197
  2. Northwest Indian CollegeBellingham$4,365
  3. Bellevue CollegeBellevue$4,436
  4. Lower Columbia CollegeLongview$4,626
  5. Green River CollegeAuburn$4,711

Full Washington cost ranking → Tuition reference →

Largest community colleges in Washington

  1. Bellevue CollegeBellevue7,364
  2. Pierce College DistrictLakewood5,313
  3. Green River CollegeAuburn4,965
  4. Clark CollegeVancouver4,945
  5. Everett Community CollegeEverett4,709

Full enrollment ranking →

All 28 community colleges in Washington

InstitutionCityEnrollmentIn-state tuition
Bellevue CollegeBellevue7,364$4,436
Big Bend Community CollegeMoses Lake1,272$5,059
Cascadia CollegeBothell1,032$5,157
Centralia CollegeCentralia1,552$5,266
Clark CollegeVancouver4,945$5,233
Columbia Basin CollegePasco4,640$6,555
Edmonds CollegeLynnwood3,656$4,810
Everett Community CollegeEverett4,709$5,032
Grays Harbor CollegeAberdeen1,010$5,593
Green River CollegeAuburn4,965$4,711
Highline CollegeDes Moines3,838$4,772
Lower Columbia CollegeLongview1,932$4,626
Northwest Indian CollegeBellingham629$4,365
Northwest School of Wooden Boat BuildingPort Hadlock50$20,025
Olympic CollegeBremerton3,826$4,197
Pacific Northwest Christian CollegeKennewick129$11,350
Pierce College DistrictLakewood5,313$5,418
Seattle Central CollegeSeattle3,953$5,184
Shoreline Community CollegeShoreline3,046$5,115
Skagit Valley CollegeMount Vernon2,477$5,400
South Puget Sound Community CollegeOlympia3,075$5,252
Spokane Community CollegeSpokane4,533$5,461
Spokane Falls Community CollegeSpokane3,199$5,461
Tacoma Community CollegeTacoma4,668$5,507
Walla Walla Community CollegeWalla Walla2,418$5,279
Wenatchee Valley CollegeWenatchee1,759$5,267
Whatcom Community CollegeBellingham2,378$5,115
Yakima Valley CollegeYakima2,770$5,312

About community college in Washington

Washington's 28 community colleges serve as the primary on-ramp into postsecondary education for hundreds of thousands of residents each year. They award associate degrees, occupational certificates, and — through articulation agreements with public and private four-year institutions — transferable general-education credit. For most students, the financial argument is decisive: published in-state tuition averages a small fraction of state-flagship sticker price, and many community-college students qualify for the full federal Pell Grant, eliminating tuition entirely.

If you intend to transfer, the most important question to ask any Washington community college is which four-year institutions accept its credit on a course-for-course basis. The state's strongest transfer pipelines tend to feed regional public universities, but well-prepared students from accredited community colleges in Washington routinely transfer into selective private institutions as well. Use the transfer-rate column above as a starting filter, then consult the receiving university's transfer admissions office to confirm specific course equivalencies.

Career-focused students should pay attention to the local labor market as much as to the institution. Washington's community colleges concentrate heavily in health-care occupations, mechanical and engineering technology, business administration, and skilled-trades programs aligned to regional employers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' state-level wage data is the right reference for setting expectations on starting salary by field. Where this site reports earnings, the figure is median earnings ten years after first enrollment, drawn from the College Scorecard's match against federal tax records.