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2026 Highest Paid Materials Engineering Grads in Michigan

[Materials Engineering](/majors/engineering/materials-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.

For its 2026 highest-paid-graduates ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find where materials engineering graduates earn the most.

What’s on this page:

• Highest Paid Materials Engineering Grads in Michigan

2026 Highest Paid Materials Engineering Grads in Michigan

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

Highest Paid Materials Engineering Graduates

1

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

$95,671 Average Early-Career Salary

Our analysis ranked Michigan State University the top school for materials engineering graduate earnings in Michigan. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State University is a public institution. Materials Engineering graduates of Michigan State University earn a median of about $95,671 a year early in their careers.

2

University Of Michigan Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI

$95,471 Average Early-Career Salary

University Of Michigan Ann Arbor came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the highest-paying materials engineering schools. University Of Michigan Ann Arbor is a public school located in the city of Ann Arbor. Materials Engineering graduates of University Of Michigan Ann Arbor earn a median of about $95,471 a year early in their careers.

3

Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI

$81,891 Average Early-Career Salary

Students chasing top earnings in materials engineering will find them at Michigan Technological University, which ranked #3. Michigan Technological University is a public school located in the town of Houghton. Early-career materials engineering graduates from Michigan Technological University make a median of around $81,891 per year.

View All Materials Engineering Rankings >

Notes and References

This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their materials 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.

• 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.