by our College Data Analytics Team
[Operations Research](/majors/engineering/operations-research/) graduates earn very different salaries depending on where they study. The highest-paying schools turn a operations research degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
College Factual analyzed 5 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the highest-paying operations research schools.
What’s on this page:
Where you study operations research affects what graduates go on to earn. That is why we developed our Highest Paid Operations Research Graduates ranking. We rank each school on the early-career earnings of its operations research graduates to surface the highest-paying programs.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we offer several rankings, including this Highest Paid Operations Research Graduates list, to help you choose. Want schools in a particular part of the country? Narrow the list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we have developed a unique tool called College Combat that lets you compare schools on the factors that matter most to you.
Learn more about our methodology
Below are the schools whose operations research graduates go on to earn the most.
Columbia University In The City Of New York tops our 2026 list of the highest-paying operations research schools in the United States. Located in the city of New York, Columbia University In The City Of New York is a private not-for-profit institution. After graduating, operations research degree recipients from Columbia University In The City Of New York typically earn about $199,865 annually.
Strong graduate earnings at Cornell University earned it the #2 place for operations research. Cornell University is a private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca. Students who complete the operations research program here go on to a median salary of roughly $151,071.
Strong graduate earnings at Princeton University earned it the #3 place for operations research. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton University is a private not-for-profit institution. Students who complete the operations research program here go on to a median salary of roughly $100,354.
A rank of #4 makes Southern Methodist University one of the highest-paying schools for operations research. Southern Methodist University is a private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Dallas. Early-career operations research graduates from Southern Methodist University make a median of around $123,913 per year.
Strong graduate earnings at University Of California Berkeley earned it the #5 place for operations research. Located in the city of Berkeley, University Of California Berkeley is a public institution. Early-career operations research graduates from University Of California Berkeley make a median of around $88,685 per year.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their operations research graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 5 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.