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2026 Highest Paid Civil Engineering Grads in District of Columbia

[Civil Engineering](/majors/engineering/civil-engineering/) 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.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the early-career earnings of their civil engineering graduates.

What’s on this page:

• Highest Paid Civil Engineering Grads in District of Columbia

2026 Highest Paid Civil Engineering Grads in District of Columbia

If you want to know which schools send civil engineering graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.

Highest Paid Civil Engineering Graduates

1

George Washington University
Washington, DC

$113,579 Average Early-Career Salary

George Washington University earned the #1 spot for highest-paid civil engineering graduates in District of Columbia. Set in the city of Washington, George Washington University is a private not-for-profit institution. Students who complete the civil engineering program here go on to a median salary of roughly $113,579.

2

Catholic University Of America
Washington, DC

$103,238 Average Early-Career Salary

Strong graduate earnings at Catholic University Of America earned it the #2 place for civil engineering. Located in the city of Washington, Catholic University Of America is a private not-for-profit institution. Civil Engineering graduates of Catholic University Of America earn a median of about $103,238 a year early in their careers.

3

Howard University
Washington, DC

$77,997 Average Early-Career Salary

Howard University came in at #3 on our 2026 list of the highest-paying civil engineering schools. Set in the city of Washington, Howard University is a private not-for-profit institution. Early-career civil engineering graduates from Howard University make a median of around $77,997 per year.

View All Civil Engineering Rankings >

Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries civil engineering 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 · 3 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.