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2026 Highest Paid Journalism Grads in Virginia

[Journalism](/majors/communication-journalism-media/journalism/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. A top-earning program sends graduates into careers with strong starting pay.

For its 2026 highest-paid-graduates ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find where journalism graduates earn the most.

What’s on this page:

• Highest Paid Journalism Grads in Virginia

2026 Highest Paid Journalism Grads in Virginia

Below are the schools whose journalism graduates go on to earn the most.

Highest Paid Journalism Graduates

1

Washington And Lee University
Lexington, VA

$79,742 Average Early-Career Salary

Leading the list is Washington And Lee University, our #1 for journalism graduate salaries in Virginia. Located in the town of Lexington, Washington And Lee University is a private not-for-profit institution. Early-career journalism graduates from Washington And Lee University make a median of around $79,742 per year.

2

University Of Richmond
University of Richmond, VA

$43,157 Average Early-Career Salary

A rank of #2 makes University Of Richmond one of the highest-paying schools for journalism. University Of Richmond is a private not-for-profit school located in the city of University of Richmond. Students who complete the journalism program here go on to a median salary of roughly $43,157.

3

Hampton University
Hampton, VA

$56,384 Average Early-Career Salary

Hampton University came in at #3 on our 2026 list of the highest-paying journalism schools. Hampton University is a private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Hampton. After graduating, journalism degree recipients from Hampton University typically earn about $56,384 annually.

4

Radford University
Radford, VA

$48,517 Average Early-Career Salary

A rank of #4 makes Radford University one of the highest-paying schools for journalism. Radford University is a public school located in the town of Radford. After graduating, journalism degree recipients from Radford University typically earn about $48,517 annually.

View All Journalism Rankings >

Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries journalism graduates go on to earn early in their careers, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).

Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 4 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.

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Graduate earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard) field-of-study earnings.

More about our data sources and methodologies.