Best Chemist programs in Washington, ranked by enrollment
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or.
15 schools in Washington run programs that feed this job, graduating 263 people a year. The job pays a median of $97,420 in Washington across about 2,280 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Washington that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Washington that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Washington (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Washington page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chemistry, Generalmain feeder CIP 40.0501In Washington → | 257 | 97.7% | 15 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 2 | CIP 51.2004In Washington → | 6 | 2.3% | 1 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
Top 15 schools in Washington
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 15 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 2 feeder programs | 124 | Chemistry, General | $46,369 | 85% | — | 39% |
| 2 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Chemistry, General | $48,527 | 65% | — | 93% |
| 3 | Washington State University Pullman, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Chemistry, General | — | 60% | — | 87% |
| 4 | Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Chemistry, General | — | 54% | — | 91% |
| 5 | Whitworth University Spokane, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Chemistry, General | $33,203 | 71% | $23,510 | 90% |
| 6 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Chemistry, General | — | 43% | — | 91% |
| 7 | Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Chemistry, General | $44,555 | 69% | $19,944 | 78% |
| 8 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Chemistry, General | — | 86% | $30,006 | 82% |
| 9 | Whitman College Walla Walla, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Chemistry, General | — | 81% | $28,508 | 38% |
| 10 | University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | — | 68% | $35,057 | 72% |
| 11 | University of Washington - Bothell Campus Bothell, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Chemistry, General | $46,369 | 65% | — | 91% |
| 12 | Seattle University Seattle, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Chemistry, General | — | 76% | $31,900 | 77% |
| 13 | Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Chemistry, General | — | 62% | $24,653 | 83% |
| 14 | Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Chemistry, General | — | 52% | $22,131 | 90% |
| 15 | Walla Walla University College Place, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Chemistry, General | — | 60% | $22,260 | — |
All 15 schools in Washington
Every school in Washington with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle | Public | 124 | 2 |
| Western Washington University | Bellingham | Public | 31 | 1 |
| Washington State University | Pullman | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Central Washington University | Ellensburg | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Whitworth University | Spokane | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| Eastern Washington University | Cheney | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Pacific Lutheran University | Tacoma | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Gonzaga University | Spokane | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Whitman College | Walla Walla | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| University of Puget Sound | Tacoma | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| University of Washington - Bothell Campus | Bothell | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Seattle University | Seattle | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Seattle Pacific University | Seattle | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Saint Martin's University | Lacey | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Walla Walla University | College Place | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What chemists earn in Washington
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $91,240. Washington pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Washington employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Washington
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Chemists page.
How to become a Chemist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Washington
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 14 majors mapped to Chemists13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 40.0501Chemistry, General
- 40.0502Analytical Chemistry
- 40.0503Inorganic Chemistry
- 40.0504Organic Chemistry
- 40.0506Physical Chemistry
- 40.0507Polymer Chemistry
- 40.0508Chemical Physics
- 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
- 40.0510Forensic Chemistry
- 40.0511Theoretical Chemistry
- 40.0512Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics(no graduates reported)
- 40.0599Chemistry, Other
- 40.1002Materials Chemistry
- 51.2004Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Common questions
Answers for people weighing chemists programs in Washington.
What degree do you need to become a Chemist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Chemistry, General, which awarded 257 degrees in Washington in 2024-25, 97.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Chemist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry, Pharmacy. Together they graduate about 263 people a year in Washington.
How much do chemists earn in Washington?+
The median is $97,420 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.8% above the U.S. median of $91,240. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for chemists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 6,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Washington?+
15 institutions in Washington reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do chemists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Chemist, Scientist, Research Chemist, Analytical Chemist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-2031.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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