2026 Best Value Astronomy Schools in Washington

[Astronomy](/majors/physical-sciences/astronomy-and-astrophysics/astronomy/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong astronomy education at a price that pays off.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 2 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for astronomy students.
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2026 Best Value Astronomy Schools in Washington
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in astronomy, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Astronomy Schools
University Of Washington Seattle Campus earned the #1 spot for value among astronomy schools in Washington. University Of Washington Seattle Campus is a very large public school located in the city of Seattle. In-state tuition and fees average $12,973, while out-of-state students pay about $43,209. Typical student debt for astronomy graduates is $16,481. Early-career astronomy graduates make about $65,681. Set against $16,481 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 39% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.