Leading U.S. colleges by starting and mid-career pay of graduates 2021/22

As of the 2021/22 academic year, graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a starting salary of 93,700 U.S. dollars, and a mid-career salary of 167,200 U.S. dollars.

Top universities in the United States

One of the top universities in the United States, Harvey Mudd College, is located in Claremont, California. Not only do graduates earn a high salaries after graduation, they also pay the most. In the academic year of 2020-2021, Harvey Mudd College was one of the most expensive school by total annual cost. The best university in the United States in 2021 belonged to the University of California, Berkeley.

The Ivy League

The Ivy League is a group of eight private universities in the Northeastern United States. It is not only a collegiate athletic conference, but also a group of highly respected academic institutions. They are usually regarded as the best eight universities in the United States and the world. They are extremely selective with their admissions process. However, these universities are extremely expensive to attend. Despite the high price tag, students who graduate from Princeton University have the highest early career salary out of all Ivy League attendees in 2021. This is compared to the overall expected starting salaries of recent college graduates across the United States, which was less than 35,000 U.S. dollars.

U.S. colleges whose graduates (All Alumni) earn the most in 2021/22, ranked by starting and mid-career salary (in U.S. dollars)

Characteristic	Starting salary*	Mid-career salary**
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	93,700	167,200
Harvey Mudd College	97,700	166,600
Princeton University	81,800	161,500
United States Naval Academy	83,700	160,100
Stanford University	87,100	156,500
Harvard University	80,900	156,200
Babson College	77,800	155,400
Santa Clara University	75,800	154,700
United States Military Academy	84,200	154,300
University of Pennsylvania	78,300	153,100
California Institute of Technology	93,100	153,100
Colgate University	73,800	152,600
Yale University	78,000	151,600
Claremont McKenna College	75,700	151,200
Stevens Institute of Technology	80,400	150,900
SUNY Maritime College	77,700	150,500
Williams College	70,600	150,300
Dartmouth College	77,600	149,800
Colorado School of Mines	79,300	148,700
United States Air Force Academy	80,100	148,600
Lehigh University	74,600	147,300
University of California-Berkeley	77,400	147,300
Webb Institute	85,300	146,500
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	80,500	146,500
United States Merchant Marine Academy	86,800	145,600
Washington and Lee University	69,100	145,300
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	79,000	145,300
University of Notre Dame	73,000	143,800
Worcester Polytechnic Institute	78,800	143,800
Carnegie Mellon University	84,000	143,400

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Release date

October 2021

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Region

United States

Survey time period

2021

Supplementary notes

Salary combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime, and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable.
Salary does not include equity (stock) compensation, which can be a significant portion of pay for some executive and high-tech jobs. In addition, salary does not include cash value of retirement benefits, or value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

* Starting Employees are full-time employees with five years of experience or less in their career or field who hold a bachelor's degree and no higher degrees.
The typical (median) starting employee is 25 years old and has two years of experience.

** Mid-Career Employees are full-time employees with at least 10 years of experience in their career or field who hold a bachelor's degree and no higher degrees.
The typical (median) mid-career employee is 42 years old and has 15 years of experience.

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