by our College Data Analytics Team
[Medicine](/majors/health-care-professions/medicine/) programs reward a close look at where graduates go on to earn the most. The highest-paying schools turn a medicine degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 5 schools on the early-career earnings of their medicine graduates.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools whose medicine graduates go on to earn the most.
For graduate earnings in medicine, no school beat Oakland University this year. Located in the suburb of Rochester Hills, Oakland University is a public institution. Early-career medicine graduates from Oakland University make a median of around $132,561 per year.
Michigan State University produces some of the highest-paid graduates in medicine, landing the #2 spot this year. Michigan State University is a public school located in the city of East Lansing. Medicine graduates of Michigan State University earn a median of about $208,932 a year early in their careers.
Strong graduate earnings at Wayne State University earned it the #3 place for medicine. Set in the city of Detroit, Wayne State University is a public institution. Early-career medicine graduates from Wayne State University make a median of around $176,598 per year.
University Of Michigan Ann Arbor produces some of the highest-paid graduates in medicine, landing the #4 spot this year. University Of Michigan Ann Arbor is a public school located in the city of Ann Arbor. Students who complete the medicine program here go on to a median salary of roughly $134,187.
Strong graduate earnings at Central Michigan University earned it the #5 place for medicine. Central Michigan University is a public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant. Students who complete the medicine program here go on to a median salary of roughly $63,654.
This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their medicine graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 5 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.