---
title: Central Washington University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Ellensburg, WA
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Central Washington University

Ellensburg, WA · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $61,580 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $38,275 – $84,664 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $13,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,303 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 54% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $28,816 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 78% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.21× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $33,580 | derived |

**54% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $13,000 (≈ 21% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $22,474 to $73,538 across 46 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,538 | $24,120 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,738 | not reported |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,024 | $25,333 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,052 | $19,435 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Master's Degree | $60,743 | $25,891 |
| Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,580 | $22,190 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $58,531 | $32,338 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $55,244 | not reported |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Master's Degree | $49,785 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $47,842 | $23,950 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,780 | $16,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,716 | $20,205 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,108 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,098 | $20,137 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,714 | $22,068 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,355 | $18,500 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,441 | $20,250 |
| Air Transportation. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,416 | $20,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,307 | $19,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,008 | $14,744 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,843 | $17,249 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,000 | $14,385 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,804 | not reported |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,440 | $18,584 |
| Human Services, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,873 | $17,523 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,240 | $19,687 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,097 | $21,065 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,577 | $21,950 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,782 | not reported |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,645 | $26,000 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,254 | $20,000 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,199 | $20,326 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,834 | $20,306 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,506 | $21,137 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,225 | $18,834 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,276 | $22,883 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,926 | $21,166 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,633 | $22,118 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,585 | $13,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,542 | $20,036 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,320 | $21,250 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,320 | $20,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,481 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,271 | $22,250 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,677 | $20,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,474 | $24,500 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Central Washington University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?234827

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/central-washington-university-wa.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`