Colleges Where Graduates Earn the Most (6 Years Out)
Six-year earnings are the closest thing to an honest ROI signal we have. It captures starting-salary effects and early-career trajectory, before survivorship bias takes over. Heavily skewed toward STEM-focused and elite schools — but useful as one data point, not the whole picture.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
- 1
University of Notre Dame
Indiana · Private
$78kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 2
University of Virginia
Virginia · Public
$68kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 3
University of Michigan
Michigan · Public
$65kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 4
Purdue University
Indiana · Public
$62kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 5
UCLA
California · Public
$62kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 6P
Penn State University
Pennsylvania · Public
$58kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 7
University of Texas at Austin
Texas · Public
$58kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 8
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wisconsin · Public
$58kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 9
Texas A&M University
Texas · Public
$56kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 10
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
North Carolina · Public
$56kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 11O
Ohio State University
Ohio · Public
$55kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 12
University of Florida
Florida · Public
$55kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 13
University of Georgia
Georgia · Public
$50kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 14
Arizona State University
Arizona · Public
$48kmedian earnings (6 yrs out) - 15I
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana · Public
$48kmedian earnings (6 yrs out)
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