by our College Data Analytics Team
[Manufacturing Engineering](/majors/engineering/manufacturing-engineering/) graduates earn very different salaries depending on where they study. The highest-paying schools turn a manufacturing engineering degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 4 schools on the early-career earnings of their manufacturing engineering graduates.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools send manufacturing engineering graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.
Grand Valley State University tops our 2026 list of the highest-paying manufacturing engineering schools in the Great Lakes Region. Set in the town of Allendale, Grand Valley State University is a public institution. Students who complete the manufacturing engineering program here go on to a median salary of roughly $76,754.
Students chasing top earnings in manufacturing engineering will find them at University Of Wisconsin Stout, which ranked #2. Located in the town of Menomonie, University Of Wisconsin Stout is a public institution. After graduating, manufacturing engineering degree recipients from University Of Wisconsin Stout typically earn about $81,185 annually.
Bradley University produces some of the highest-paid graduates in manufacturing engineering, landing the #3 spot this year. Located in the city of Peoria, Bradley University is a private not-for-profit institution. Manufacturing Engineering graduates of Bradley University earn a median of about $88,449 a year early in their careers.
A rank of #4 makes Ferris State University one of the highest-paying schools for manufacturing engineering. Ferris State University is a public school located in the town of Big Rapids. Manufacturing Engineering graduates of Ferris State University earn a median of about $77,154 a year early in their careers.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries manufacturing 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 · 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.
More about our data sources and methodologies.