The College With The Highest-earning Graduates In Every Us State
Jeenah Moon / POOL / AFP
- The college you attend can affect how much you earn after graduation.
- The Department of Education's College Scorecard tracks former students' earnings by school.
- Business Insider listed the US colleges with the highest-earning graduates in every state.
At some schools, investing in higher education pays off more than in others.
Business Insider recently identified the 34 US colleges with the highest-paid graduates four years after completing their degrees across all US states, based on Department of Education data.
To map earnings across state lines, we went a step further and used the same data to identify which colleges have the highest-earning graduates in every US state.
The department's College Scorecard outlines net college costs, student debt, completion rates, and earnings outcomes across US colleges and universities for the 13 million students receiving Title IV federal aid. (According to the department's latest data, approximately 55% of undergraduate students in the 2019-2020 school year received some form of federal financial aid.)
Using the College Scorecard's median annual earnings data, which measures how much former federal-aid-receiving students earn four years after completing their degrees, we identified the colleges with the highest-earning graduates in each state.
For this list, which features a range of schools from smaller specialized programs to large universities, we focused on public or private nonprofit four-year schools. We also included the location and the most popular majors at each school — as reported by Niche for each institution — which can often significantly affect graduates' earnings.
Like most college ranking methodologies, the list has caveats: The earnings data applies only to former federal-aid recipients, and specialized schools may be more likely to top some states because graduates in certain fields tend to earn more. Still, it helps map the big picture of college graduates' earnings across the US.
See which school had the top-earning federally aided graduates in your state.
ChrisBoswell/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Nursing, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and computer science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $81,000
Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Mechanic and repair technologies, nursing, psychology, business management, and administration
Median earnings four years after graduation: $69,000
AutumnSkyPhotography/Getty Images
Top majors: Aeronautics, aviation technology, and aerospace engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $94,000
neiu20001/Getty Images
Top majors: Medical laboratory technician, nursing, radiation therapy, and dental hygiene
Median earnings four years after graduation: $77,000
Kit Leong/Shutterstock
Top majors: Computer science, mechanical engineering, and physics
Median earnings four years after graduation: $153,000
Charles Knowles/Shutterstock
Top majors: Mechanical engineering, computer science, chemical engineering, and electrical engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $100,000
f11photo/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Economics, information science, liberal arts and humanities, history, political science and government, and cellular biology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $113,000
Kirkikis/Getty Images
Top majors: Finance, research and experimental psychology, marketing, and nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $78,000
Jerry Ballard/Getty Images
Top majors: Aeronautics and aviation technology, aerospace engineering, and mechanical engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $94,000
CRobertson/Getty Images
Top majors: Information science, mechanical engineering, business, and industrial engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $119,000
hapabapa/Getty Images
Top majors: Psychology, marketing, nursing, finance, kinesiology, and exercise science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $62,000
knowlesgallery/Getty Images
Top majors: Business, liberal arts and humanities, nursing, communications, health professions, and psychology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $65,000
peterspiro/Getty Images
Top majors: Economics, computer science, mathematics, and biology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $128,000
Aaron Yoder/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Finance, economics, political science and government, information science, mathematics, neuroscience, and neurobiology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $101,000
Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $74,000
Matthew Fowler/Getty Images
Top majors: Business and nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $70,000
aceshot/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Business, liberal arts and humanities, nursing, and psychology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $70,000
Rebecka Johnson/Getty Images
Top majors: Nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $81,000
travelview/Getty Images
Top majors: Engineering, marine science, engineering technician, and international business
Median earnings four years after graduation: $113,000
Mindaugas Dulinskas/Getty Images
Top majors: Information science, cellular biology, public health, neuroscience, and neurobiology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $117,000
Wangkun Jia/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Computer science, mathematics, and mechanical engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $162,000
James R. Martin/Shutterstock
Top majors: Mechanical engineering and computer science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $100,000
GummyBone/Getty Images
Top majors: Finance, marketing, and business
Median earnings four years after graduation: $82,000
CRobertson/Getty Images
Top majors: Business, biology, accounting, neuroscience, neurobiology, and psychology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $67,000
Perry Spring/Getty Images
Top majors: Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences
Median earnings four years after graduation: $132,000
shanecotee/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Nursing and medical assistant
Median earnings four years after graduation: $89,000
JHVEPhoto/Getty Images
Top majors: Nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $86,000
Derek_Neumann/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $122,000
arlutz73/Getty Images
Top majors: Economics, political science and government, computer science, engineering, and environmental science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $112,000
Steve Rosenbach/Getty Images
Top majors: Computer science and mechanical engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $113,000
ejwhite/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $85,000
hapabapa/Getty Images
Top majors: Computer science, economics, political science and government, research and experimental psychology, and history
Median earnings four years after graduation: $116,000
BSPollard/Getty Images
Top majors: Computer science, liberal arts and humanities, nursing, biology, economics, and public policy analysis
Median earnings four years after graduation: $116,000
Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Aeronautics and aviation technology, psychology, medical laboratory technician, and nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $70,000
kim willems/Getty Images
Top majors: Biology, computer science, bioengineering and biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, and psychology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $94,000
Wirestock/Getty Images
Top majors: Behavioral sciences, biology, mechanical engineering, kinesiology and exercise science, computer science, and nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $79,000
hapabapa/Getty Images
Top majors: Nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $110,000
Althom/Getty Images
Top majors: Computer science, electrical engineering, business, statistics, systems science and theory, and mechanical engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $133,000
Wolterk/Getty Images
Top majors: Computer science, economics, computational and applied mathematics, international relations, and biology
Median earnings four years after graduation: $95,000
JHVEPhoto/Getty Images
Top majors: Nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $90,000
Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images
Top majors: Engineering and information science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $88,000
SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Social science research methods, liberal arts and humanities, economics, computer science, mathematics, and political science and government
Median earnings four years after graduation: $101,000
Philip Lange/Shutterstock
Top majors: Health administration, medical and biomedical sciences, osteopathic medicine, and public health
Median earnings four years after graduation: $119,000
JHVEPhoto/Getty Images
Top majors: Nursing, education, business, computer and information systems security, accounting, and computer science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $87,000
ErikaMitchell/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Intelligence, criminal justice and law enforcement administration, nursing, business, computer and information systems security, and international relations
Median earnings four years after graduation: $76,000
Zach Zimet/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Top majors: Business, political science and government, accounting, research and experimental psychology, economics, and history
Median earnings four years after graduation: $101,000
Jeffrey K Collins/Getty Images
Top majors: Business, information science, security science and technology, and liberal arts and humanities
Median earnings four years after graduation: $84,000
BSPollard/Getty Images
Top majors: Business and nursing
Median earnings four years after graduation: $69,000
JHVEPhoto/Getty Images
Top majors: Mechanical engineering, nursing, electrical engineering, computer science, civil engineering, bioengineering, and biomedical engineering
Median earnings four years after graduation: $91,000
JillianCain/Getty Images
Top majors: Psychology, nursing, criminal justice and safety studies, elementary education, marketing, and kinesiology and exercise science
Median earnings four years after graduation: $62,000
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