Majors

Best Colleges for Aerospace Engineering, by Earnings

71 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, about 6,181 degrees a year. Across the 58 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $96,728 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	University of Southern California	CA	$125,514	55	9.8%
2	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$116,350	218	78.1%
3	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$115,706	63	9%
4	University of Michigan	MI	$115,075	103	15.6%
5	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	$114,620	57	4.5%
6	University of Washington	WA	$111,349	68	39.1%
7	Illinois Institute of Technology	IL	$110,956	28	54.9%
8	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$107,498	110	31.3%
9	Virginia Tech	VA	$106,633	246	54.8%
10	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$106,171	126	75.2%
11	Case Western Reserve University	OH	$106,134	45	36.5%
12	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	MA	$105,171	59	60.2%
13	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$104,422	138	26.6%
14	University of Notre Dame	IN	$103,022	25	11.3%
15	Auburn University	AL	$102,756	95	45.9%
16	Georgia Institute of Technology	GA	$102,415	224	14.1%
17	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$101,797	92	46.3%
18	University of California-Irvine	CA	$100,537	95	28.6%
19	University of California-San Diego	CA	$100,173	87	26.7%
20	San Diego State University	CA	$100,139	111	36.2%
21	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	$99,239	30	79.9%
22	Pennsylvania State University	PA	$99,159	126	60.6%
23	University of Maryland	MD	$98,044	142	44.8%
24	Purdue University	IN	$97,332	314	49.9%
25	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$97,276	137	42.4%
26	Texas A&M University	TX	$97,227	162	57.4%
27	Florida Institute of Technology	FL	$97,015	81	57.7%
28	University of Central Florida	FL	$96,972	205	40.1%
29	Arizona State University	AZ	$96,946	123	89.9%
30	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	$96,510	80	89%
31	Missouri University of Science and Technology	MO	$96,090	78	72.6%
32	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach	FL	$95,552	304	64.8%
33	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott	AZ	$95,552	147	76.6%
34	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide	FL	$95,552	44	57.9%
35	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	NY	$94,750	117	63.5%
36	West Virginia University	WV	$94,750	80	89%
37	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$94,598	52	58.1%
38	University of Florida	FL	$94,375	143	24.2%
39	Western Michigan University	MI	$94,177	44	84.6%
40	Iowa State University	IA	$94,089	121	88.7%
41	University of California-Davis	CA	$93,414	79	41.8%
42	Ohio State University	OH	$92,999	96	60.6%
43	University of Minnesota	MN	$92,422	70	79.8%
44	University at Buffalo	NY	$92,360	95	74.2%
45	University of Kansas	KS	$92,335	51	93.5%
46	The University of Alabama	AL	$91,999	69	76.6%
47	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$91,249	79	75%
48	Clarkson University	NY	$91,066	48	77.4%
49	Syracuse University	NY	$90,470	36	45.9%
50	North Carolina State University	NC	$89,932	77	41.7%
51	University of Oklahoma	OK	$89,714	35	76.6%
52	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$89,015	61	41.6%
53	University of Cincinnati	OH	$88,511	60	85.3%
54	Mississippi State University	MS	$88,444	68	77.6%
55	University of Alabama in Huntsville	AL	$87,339	124	68.6%
56	University of Arizona	AZ	$86,529	56	86.1%
57	University of Virginia	VA	$85,681	40	16.8%
58	Wichita State University	KS	$83,057	54	94%

13 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Aerospace Engineering graduates?

University of Southern California ($125,514), University of Colorado Boulder ($116,350), University of California-Los Angeles ($115,706), University of Michigan ($115,075), Massachusetts Institute of Technology ($114,620) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Aerospace Engineering majors make?

The median across 58 colleges is $96,728 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $83,057 to $125,514.

Which colleges have the biggest Aerospace Engineering programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Purdue University (314), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach (304), Virginia Tech (246), Georgia Institute of Technology (224), University of Colorado Boulder (218).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.