Top 20 colleges with richest graduates

[Anonymous]

1. MIT, $196,900

2. Princeton, $194,100

3. US Naval Academy, $187,800

4. Harvey Mudd College, $185,900

5. Babson College, $181,400

6. Stanford University, $181,200

7. Santa Clara College, $179,500

8. Dartmouth College, $178,700

9. University of Pennsylvania, $178,300

10. Harvard University, $177,400

11. Colgate University, $176,100

12. Lehigh University, $175,600

13. California Institute of Technology, $175,400

14. Claremont Mckenna College, $175,000

15. U.S. Military Academy, $174,100

16. Williams College, $173,900

17. Stevens Institute of Technology, $172,900

18. U.S. Air Force Academy, $172,800

19. Yale University, $171,900

20. University of California-Berkeley, $170,100

A ranking of U.S. colleges with the best-paid graduates may include a few surprises – including some pleasant ones, for those eyeing military careers.

Payscale.com says its list “ranks the top schools and majors based on mid-career salary potential, in an effort to help college-bound students make informed decisions about their education and future careers.” According to Payscale, the numbers come “from the alumni salary data of 3.1 million degree-holding workers who completed Payscale’s free online salary survey, with more than 2,400 colleges and universities across the U.S. represented.​​” Mid-career is defined as more than 10 years of experience.

Obviously this is one college ranking not dominated by the SEC. MSN published a Top 100 based on Payscale’s 2021 numbers, and in that list Vanderbilt came in at No. 70 with a mid-career median of $129,600.

https://www.al.com/education/2025/11/20-colleges-with-the-richest-graduates.html

[Anonymous]

This means nothing if it isn’t corrected for cost of living and industry. Any school that graduates a lot of tech students and/or kids who end up in large cities on either coast is going to score high. Where students live and the industry they choose to work says nothing about the education they received.

[Anonymous]

A recycled click bait article using data from 2024. Please think before you post.

[Anonymous]

A list like that is always dependent on majors. And engineering and business related majors will all figure more prominently in such a list. If Babson is your dream, go for it.

And the academies and military service as an officer have long led to good career results. There's nothing new there. Business and Law schools love these people. And so do most companies.

[Anonymous]

go Babson!

sorry to all the southern school afficiandos on here who hate this list and are feeling defensive.

[Anonymous]

Actually, in the MSN piece, Vanderbilt was ranked 60 with $148k. In the same piece, Northwestern was ranked 94 at $141,300.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:go Babson!

sorry to all the southern school afficiandos on here who hate this list and are feeling defensive.

Sorry if you’re offended by facts. Yes, a business major from Babson taking a finance job in Boston is likely to make more than an English major from Carleton working as a high school teacher in Minneapolis. So, is Babson a “better” school?

[Anonymous]

Title isn’t consistent with post. Wealth does not mean mid-life salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
6. Stanford University, $181,200

7. Santa Clara College, $179,500

Fine list until you see Stanford and Santa Clara side by side ...
This list obviously has everything to do with nepo.

[Anonymous]

UC Berkeley and Santa Clara are very impressive. They aren't consulting/IB feeders like the ivies and they have "lower" academic standards for admits, but they still have very good average salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UC Berkeley and Santa Clara are very impressive. They aren't consulting/IB feeders like the ivies and they have "lower" academic standards for admits, but they still have very good average salaries.

Yes, but most of their graduates live in California, which has high salaries and high cost of living. So, while these schools show a high salary, it doesn’t mean much, per se.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Title isn’t consistent with post. Wealth does not mean mid-life salary.

Seriously. You don’t have to tell me that.

[Anonymous]

What’s the common denominator between Santa Clara, Stanford, and UC-Berkeley? They’re all in California. Basically, if you attend a school on the coasts or a big city, and you stay and take a job there, your salary will be high. Further, if you take a tech or finance job in those same locations, your salary will be high. What does all this prove about any school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UC Berkeley and Santa Clara are very impressive. They aren't consulting/IB feeders like the ivies and they have "lower" academic standards for admits, but they still have very good average salaries.

Yes, but most of their graduates live in California, which has high salaries and high cost of living. So, while these schools show a high salary, it doesn’t mean much, per se.

The average salary in California is no where near $170,000, so point stands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the common denominator between Santa Clara, Stanford, and UC-Berkeley? They’re all in California. Basically, if you attend a school on the coasts or a big city, and you stay and take a job there, your salary will be high. Further, if you take a tech or finance job in those same locations, your salary will be high. What does all this prove about any school?

Correct regarding schools that place most graduates on the East Coast or on the West Coast.

Schools which place most graduates in the Midwest or in the South will have lower earnings because the cost-of-living (COL) is significantly lower in these regions of the US.

The list is meaningless without adjustments for location / cost-of-living.