2021 Highest Paid Engineering Graduates
Finding the Best Engineering School for You
With 128,724 bachelor's degrees handed out in 2018-2019, engineering is the #4 most popular major in the United States.
The engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Highest Paid Engineering Graduates.
This year's Highest Paid Engineering Graduates ranking looked at 343 colleges that offer a bachelor's in engineering.
The numbers used in this ranking are early career salaries, which we define to be 10 years after a student started college. This is the salary typically earned 4-6 years after graduation, but may be different depending on how long a person takes to complete their degree.
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How Much Do Engineering Majors Make After Graduation?
After graduating, engineering majors that go to school in the United States go on to jobs making an average of $62,200 per year. This means that graduates with bachelor's degrees in this field make 56% more than the average college graduate salary of $39,802.
College Combat
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
2021 Highest Paid Engineering Grads in the United States
The following colleges produce the highest paid engineering graduates.
Top 25 Best Schools for Highly Paid Engineering Graduates
University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid engineering school. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Maine Maritime Academy earned the #2 spot in our 2021 rankings. Maine Maritime is a small public school located in the rural area of Castine.
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Harvard University earned the #2 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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The #3 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
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United States Naval Academy landed the #3 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid engineering school. Located in the suburb of Annapolis, Annapolis is a public school with a small student population.
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Princeton University comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Princeton.
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Our rankings recognize Massachusetts Maritime Academy as the #4 school in this year's rankings. Maritime is a small public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Buzzards Bay.
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Yale University earned the #5 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Santa Clara University earned the #5 spot in our 2021 rankings. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.
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The #6 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
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California State University Maritime Academy landed the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid engineering school. Cal Maritime is a fairly small public school located in the city of Vallejo.
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Our rankings recognize Harvey Mudd College as the #8 school in this year's rankings. Harvey Mudd College is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Claremont.
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University of Michigan - Dearborn earned the #9 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Dearborn, UM Dearborn is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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SUNY Maritime College earned the #10 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of Throggs Neck, SUNY Maritime is a public college with a small student population.
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The #11 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Kettering University. Kettering is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Flint.
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Olin College earned the #12 spot in our 2021 rankings. Olin College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Needham.
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The #13 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Rice University. Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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The #14 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Dartmouth College. Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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United States Military Academy earned the #14 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the town of West Point, West Point is a public school with a small student population.
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The #15 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Brown University. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.
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The #15 spot in this year's ranking belongs to United States Air Force Academy. Located in the town of USAF Academy, USAFA is a public college with a small student population.
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Oakland University landed the #16 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid engineering school. Located in the suburb of Rochester Hills, Oakland is a public school with a large student population.
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Our rankings recognize Duke University as the #17 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Lawrence Technological University landed the #18 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid engineering school. Lawrence Tech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Southfield.
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Cornell University landed the #19 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid engineering school. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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Request InformationRest of the Top Schools for Highest Paid Engineering Graduates
Remaining Award Winners
This list represents the rest of the schools awarded a Highest Paid Engineering Graduates badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 343 different United States engineering schools we analyzed.
Rank | College | Location |
---|---|---|
49 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
50 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA |
51 | Michigan Technological University | Houghton, MI |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Engineering students seeking high pay that almost earned our Highest Paid Engineering Graduates award.
Rank | College | Location |
---|---|---|
52 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy, NY |
53 | Montana Tech of the University of Montana | Butte, MT |
54 | Purdue University - Main Campus | West Lafayette, IN |
55 | University of Tulsa | Tulsa, OK |
56 | Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA |
57 | Stevens Institute of Technology | Hoboken, NJ |
57 | Providence College | Providence, RI |
58 | Brigham Young University - Provo | Provo, UT |
59 | University of Dayton | Dayton, OH |
60 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
61 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
62 | University of San Diego | San Diego, CA |
63 | Arizona State University - Polytechnic | Mesa, AZ |
64 | University of St Thomas Minnesota | Saint Paul, MN |
65 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD |
66 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
67 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
68 | Prairie View A & M University | Prairie View, TX |
Engineering by Region
View the Highest Paid Engineering Graduates for a specific region near you.
Region |
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Southeast |
New England |
Rocky Mountains |
Plains States |
Middle Atlantic |
Far Western US |
Southwest |
Great Lakes |
More Engineering Rankings
Engineering Related Rankings by Major
Engineering Majors to Study
Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
Mechanical Engineering | 37,343 |
Electrical Engineering | 17,946 |
Civil Engineering | 14,832 |
Chemical Engineering | 11,423 |
Computer Engineering | 10,704 |
View All Engineering Related Majors >
Majors Similar to Engineering
Related Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 126,493 |
Computer & Information Sciences | 92,596 |
Physical Sciences | 32,633 |
Mathematics & Statistics | 30,991 |
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations | 21,156 |
View All Engineering Related Majors >
Notes and References
- 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 the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
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Southern New Hampshire University
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Purdue University
Building on Purdue’s mission to provide greater access to affordable, world-class education, Purdue University Global delivers a fully personalized online experience that’s tailored to working adults. By opening the doors to adults who need flexibility to fit learning into their busy lives, we make it possible to achieve a high-quality education from the prestigious Purdue University system—completely online ... Learn More > |
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Grand Canyon University (GCU)
With a spotlight on intellectual creativity and innovation for the 21stcentury, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at GCU provides a job focused education. It blends the study of traditional humanities in a modern context. Through academic inquiry and beyond the box thinking, the college advances our society and its accomplishments ... Learn More > |
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Northcentral University
Northcentral University (NCU) was founded to provide accessible, high-quality, online graduate degrees to working professionals. As a regionally accredited, online university, NCU serves students worldwide, focusing on Doctoral and Master's degree programs in the Schools of Business and Technology Management, Education, Psychology, and Marriage and Family Sciences ... Learn More > |
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Colorado Technical University (CTU)
CTU could help you connect to what matters most: a powerful professional community, aculty who are real-world professionals, and innovative technology ... Learn More > |