by our College Data Analytics Team
[Civil Engineering](/majors/engineering/civil-engineering/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. The highest-paying schools turn a civil engineering degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
For its 2026 highest-paid-graduates ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find where civil engineering graduates earn the most.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools whose civil engineering graduates go on to earn the most.
University Of Louisville tops our 2026 list of the highest-paying civil engineering schools in Kentucky. Set in the city of Louisville, University Of Louisville is a public institution. After graduating, civil engineering degree recipients from University Of Louisville typically earn about $87,288 annually.
Students chasing top earnings in civil engineering will find them at University Of Kentucky, which ranked #2. University Of Kentucky is a public school located in the city of Lexington. After graduating, civil engineering degree recipients from University Of Kentucky typically earn about $78,408 annually.
A rank of #3 makes Western Kentucky University one of the highest-paying schools for civil engineering. Located in the city of Bowling Green, Western Kentucky University is a public institution. Students who complete the civil engineering program here go on to a median salary of roughly $69,462.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their civil engineering graduates, 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.
More about our data sources and methodologies.