Which undergraduate school is stronger for informatics, Yale or the University of Washington?

The biggest practical difference is that the University of Washington offers a purpose-built undergraduate Informatics major in its Information School, while Yale asks you to assemble a related path through computer science, data science/statistics, cognitive science, and social-science or humanities coursework. For studying how people use technology, how information is organized, and how data shapes institutions, UW provides the more direct curriculum and faculty community.

UW Informatics is explicitly interdisciplinary, with undergraduate study spanning human-computer interaction, data science, information architecture, cybersecurity, and the social consequences of technology. Its Seattle setting also creates unusually close ties to a large technology and research ecosystem, which can translate into project-based courses, internships, and alumni connections.

Yale can be excellent for a student who wants technology studied through a broader liberal-arts lens. Its strengths include small seminars, close faculty access, flexible course combinations, and serious work in areas such as computer science, statistics and data science, cognitive science, digital humanities, ethics, and public policy. But it does not offer the same unified, professionally oriented informatics curriculum or dedicated undergraduate information school.

For the specific interest you describe, UW is the stronger undergraduate choice. Yale becomes more compelling only if you value its broader liberal-arts structure enough to prefer building your own human-centered technology pathway rather than entering a defined Informatics program.