California vs Washington: Higher Education Comparison
Side-by-side benchmarks from College Scorecard and merged EDsmart Data state profiles. Highlighted cells show the more favorable value (lower for costs/debt, higher for earnings/enrollment/completion).
Head-to-head metrics
| Metric | California | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Median in-state tuition | $1,350 | $5,356 |
| Median net price | $8,343 | $9,863 |
| Median student debt | $11,537 | $13,653 |
| Total enrollment | 2,134,322 | 225,805 |
| Completion rate | 59.0% | 46.0% |
| Median earnings (10 yr) | $65,668 | $64,506 |
| Employment proxy (8 yr) | 90.0% | 90.3% |
| First-year retention | 83.8% | 78.9% |