Majors
Best Colleges for Engineering, by Earnings
172 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Engineering, about 2,604 degrees a year. Across the 44 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $87,280 four years after finishing.
| Rank | College | State | Median earnings, 4 years out | Degrees a year | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornell University | NY | $128,207 | 7 | 8.8% |
| 2 | Harvey Mudd College | CA | $122,845 | 53 | 12.7% |
| 3 | Carnegie Mellon University | PA | $110,208 | 20 | 11.7% |
| 4 | Brown University | RI | $108,550 | 80 | 5.4% |
| 5 | McNeese State University | LA | $107,319 | 32 | 78.3% |
| 6 | Seattle Pacific University | WA | $106,291 | 1 | 83.4% |
| 7 | Lafayette College | PA | $104,222 | 13 | 31.5% |
| 8 | Michigan State University | MI | $102,301 | 101 | 84.8% |
| 9 | University of Virginia | VA | $101,078 | 5 | 16.8% |
| 10 | North Carolina State University | NC | $99,838 | 31 | 41.7% |
| 11 | Frostburg State University | MD | $99,671 | 28 | 89.2% |
| 12 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | MA | $96,695 | 16 | 91.2% |
| 13 | Arizona State University | AZ | $94,332 | 160 | 89.9% |
| 14 | Texas Christian University | TX | $93,753 | 51 | 44.5% |
| 15 | James Madison University | VA | $91,761 | 66 | 71.5% |
| 16 | Mercer University | GA | $88,413 | 138 | 68.9% |
| 17 | University of North Carolina Asheville | NC | $88,346 | 21 | 91.9% |
| 18 | Elizabethtown College | PA | $88,104 | 35 | 77.9% |
| 19 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine | PA | $88,063 | 9 | 98.1% |
| 20 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington | PA | $88,063 | 5 | 96.8% |
| 21 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Hazleton | PA | $88,063 | 4 | 96.4% |
| 22 | Stony Brook University | NY | $87,517 | 11 | 49% |
| 23 | The University of Tennessee-Martin | TN | $87,043 | 8 | 88.2% |
| 24 | Loyola University Maryland | MD | $86,585 | 39 | 75.5% |
| 25 | Robert Morris University | PA | $86,444 | 62 | 89.9% |
| 26 | Smith College | MA | $86,262 | 5 | 21% |
| 27 | Northwest Nazarene University | ID | $85,643 | 10 | 64.7% |
| 28 | Messiah University | PA | $84,927 | 4 | 79% |
| 29 | East Carolina University | NC | $84,847 | 76 | 89.2% |
| 30 | Baylor University | TX | $84,689 | 7 | 51.3% |
| 31 | Oral Roberts University | OK | $84,649 | 17 | 98.9% |
| 32 | Saint Vincent College | PA | $84,180 | 17 | 61.7% |
| 33 | Minnesota State University-Mankato | MN | $82,903 | 63 | 88.4% |
| 34 | Olivet Nazarene University | IL | $82,632 | 31 | 55.9% |
| 35 | Hope College | MI | $82,513 | 49 | 79.2% |
| 36 | Western Carolina University | NC | $82,500 | 45 | 81.8% |
| 37 | Calvin University | MI | $82,326 | 79 | 70.9% |
| 38 | The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | TN | $81,757 | 1 | 81.1% |
| 39 | Swarthmore College | PA | $78,519 | 33 | 7.5% |
| 40 | University of Hartford | CT | $78,351 | 9 | 95.8% |
| 41 | Fort Lewis College | CO | $77,389 | 26 | 77.3% |
| 42 | Geneva College | PA | $75,535 | 28 | |
| 43 | Marshall University | WV | $72,922 | 3 | 95.7% |
| 44 | College of Staten Island CUNY | NY | $72,716 | 29 | 92.3% |
128 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 Engineering graduates?
Cornell University ($128,207), Harvey Mudd College ($122,845), Carnegie Mellon University ($110,208), Brown University ($108,550), McNeese State University ($107,319) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.
How much do Engineering majors make?
The median across 44 colleges is $87,280 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $72,716 to $128,207.
Which colleges have the biggest Engineering programs?
By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Arizona State University (160), Mercer University (138), Michigan State University (101), Savannah College of Art and Design (100), Brown University (80).
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 "Engineering, General". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.
