The Top 10 U.S. Colleges that Make Their Graduates Richer

Top universities can provide graduates with good job markets, proficient skills, and qualifications that are highly sought after by employers globally. This potential for high earnings and career success invests in an American university education, a strategic choice for those aiming to secure their financial future. In recent years, public universities have become increasingly popular in the U.S. The reason is likely related to the rising high tuition fees of American universities and graduate families placing more importance on the return on education investment. The total cost of a year at many private universities has entered the “era of $90,000.” Although tuition at some public universities is also rising, it is still much more affordable than private universities. 

Average Salaries of Graduates from Top U.S. Universities

American graduates’ average salaries vary significantly depending on their chosen field of study and the prestige of the university they attended. However, it is broadly recognised that attending a top-tier American university can substantially enhance graduates’ earning potential. According to recent statistics, graduates from leading institutions often command starting salaries significantly above the national average for new graduates with figures continuing to grow as they progress in their careers. Such financial outcomes highlight the tangible benefits of an education from a prestigious American university, reinforcing the belief that these institutions offer academic excellence and a lucrative return on investment.

America’s Top 10 Colleges with the Highest-Earning Graduates

Recently, the US salary network PayScale updated the “2023 salary ranking of US college graduates,” which allows us to understand the income level of US college graduates intuitively.

Top 10  University of California, Davis

2024 U.S. News Top 28

Early Career Pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$76,200	$142,700	$16,757	$44,796	$50,957	$78,996

TheUniversity of Californiais located in the city of Davis, which can be called one of the true college towns in the United States. A statistic shows that the ratio of students to permanent residents is about 1:4. There is only a 20-minute drive from Davis to Sacramento, the state capital, allowing students to settle down to study and find opportunities in the metropolitan area.

UCD has a robust faculty. At present, more than 200 of over 2,000 faculty members are members of National and International Institutes. and they have won the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Technological Innovation Award and many other honours. Besides, UCD’s academic strength is also well-known. Besides biology, agriculture forestry, and veterinary, it still has psychology, economics, civil engineering, software engineering and other professional strengths, which are second to none.

Top 9 University of California, Los Angeles

2024 U.S.News Top 15

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$76,000	$144,400	$15,154	$42,172	$49,354	$76,327

As the nation’s No. 1 public school, it’s no surprise that UCLA‘s undergraduate graduates earn a high salary. UCLA has more than 500,000 alumni worldwide, including many dignitaries and business celebrities. It holds more than 2,000 alumni events every year to help students network with distinguished alumni from all walks of life.

Companies value UCLA students for their intelligence, innovative thinking, leadership skills and optimism. Top employers for UCLA undergraduates include Accenture, Amazon, Apple, Bloomberg, Cisco Systems, Deloitte, Getty, Google, Kaiser Permanente, KPMG, Mattel, Microsoft, NBCUniversal, Oracle, PWC, SpaceX, and others.

Top 8 New Jersey Institute of Technology

2024 U.S.News Top 86

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$78,700	$146,500	$15,616	$41,436	$32,528	$58,348

 Founded in 1881, theNew Jersey Institute of Technology, located in Newark, New Jersey, values education, research, service, and economic development equally. New Jersey Institute of Technology focuses on developing students with the skills they will have for their future jobs. The New Jersey Institute for Innovation and the New Jersey Institute of Technology jointly launched the LDI Learning and Development Program, which provides skills training, business artificial intelligence, business design thinking, management essentials, and financial management for non-financial managers.

New Jersey Institute of Technology also offers a wealth of corporate paid and unpaid internship opportunities, with about 531 companies recruiting on campus each year, so the undergraduate employment rate of the school is very high, reaching 85% in 2023, working for companies such as ADP, Amazon, Apple, Avanade, Bank of America, Getinge, HNTB, etc.

Top 7 University of California, Irvine

2024 U.S.News Top 33

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$74,300	$148,400	$17,357	$40,202	$49,931	$72,776

UCIhas 13 colleges offering undergraduate programs, including criminal justice, public health, performing arts, psychology, education, CS, music, biology, chemistry, business, mathematics and other majors. The school is located in Orange County, about 50 miles south of Los Angeles, which has the reputation of “the safest city in the United States”, “the king of the world’s livable city”, “Southern California Silicon Valley” and other well-known companies around Qualcomm, SpaceX, Western Digital, Blizzard Entertainment, Google and other companies, students can get the moon first near the water.

Top 6 University of California, Santa Barbara

2024 U.S.News Top 35

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$72,700	$148,600	$15,666	$41,289	$48,240	$73,863

UCSBis located on the Santa Barbara Peninsula, a seaside resort in the Los Angeles metropolitan area with beautiful beaches. It is a well-known “Party School” in the University of California, which means that students who “can play” in the party often get lots of work internships and internal promotion opportunities.

In addition, UCSB is a research university with a strong emphasis on science and engineering and focuses on interdisciplinary education, including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, finance, and so on. According to alumni feedback, professors are very strict in their coursework. Many hundreds of students in major courses will be dropped, and very few of them get A, so UCSB students treat their studies seriously.

Top 5 University of Virginia

2024 U.S.News Top 24

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$79,500	$149,100	$15,784	$39,494	$53,822	$78,214- $79,574

UVa specializes in humanities and social sciences, has a wide range of influence in academia, and has cultivated outstanding alumni from all walks of life. By 2022, there were 2,568 billionaire alumni. Previous alumni have achieved great success in social practice after graduation, making all walks of life recognize the strength and professional quality of UVa students, which has played a good endorsement role for today’s undergraduate graduates to find jobs.

In 2024-2025, UVa’s tuition for in-state and out-of-state students will increase, especially since the total cost of out-of-state students is nearly $80,000 a year, which is not cheap. However, UVa students have a solid ability to attract money, and the annual salary of their early career is close to $80,000, and they believe that they can quickly earn back their tuition fees.

Top 4 University of California, San Diego

2024 U.S.News Top 28

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$79,200	$151,600	$19,872	$42,837	$54,072	$77,037

UCSDis a university that focuses on high-level science and engineering education! Among undergraduate majors, biotechnology ranks in the top 2 in the United States, mobile applications in the top 5, biomedical engineering in the top 8, and computer engineering in the top 20. Besides, electrical engineering, artificial intelligence, computer systems, network security, data analysis, programming, psychology, and economics are among the top 20 levels in the United States.

UCSD is also known as a solid scientific research school, with 19 research units on campus, and has a close relationship with top regional research centres, including the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Burnham Prems Institute for Medical Discovery, and so on. The campus academic atmosphere is quite strong! From 2022 to 2023, 85.7 % of UCSD students were employed and enrolled in graduate school, with employers including EY, General Atomics, PWC, Deloitte, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Qualcomm and Tesla.

Top 3 Georgia Institute of Technology

2024 U.S.News Top 33

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$89,700	$163,400	$10,770	$29,950	$32,940	$52,120

Georgia Institute of Technology, MIT, and California Institute of Technology are known as the “American Institute of Technology Big Three “. Because of this title, there is no surprise that the university’s undergraduate financial ability ranks among the top 3 public schools in the United States! The main campus of Georgia Tech is located in Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, where many well-known enterprises such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Delta Air Lines, and US limited television network are gathered, and students enjoy convenient internships and employment here. At a time when many of the nation’s top public schools are heading toward $40,000, Georgia Tech’s out-of-state and international students pay just over $30,000 for a top-notch higher education. Georgia Tech is a cost-effective study with less tuition, more money, and strong academic performance!

Top 2 Colorado School of Mines Colorado School of Mines

2024 U.S.News Top 76

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$87,800	$165,700	$18,390	$42,062	$41,580	$65,252

Colorado School of Minesis a well-known STEM school in the United States, focusing on interdisciplinary education, and can be called a global leader in the field of mineral and mining engineering. The main reason undergraduate students are paid so much is that the university’s internship and employment resources are super rich. The school partners with 585 businesses and organizations, 73% of undergraduate students graduate with internship experience, and 721 businesses participate in campus Career days in the spring and fall each year. At the same time, Colorado School of Mines tuition is relatively low, and the total cost of out-of-state students and international students a year is $65,252, and early career salary as high as $87,800, which makes the school consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment in education.

Top 1 University of California, Berkeley

2024 U.S.News Top 15

Early career pay	Mid-career pay	Tuition and Fees for in-state students	Total cost of in-state students a year	Tuition and Fees for out-of-state students	Total cost of out-of-state students a year
$88,300	$167,000	$16,522	$48,574	$50,722	$82,774

USB has 14 schools, of which the engineering school is known as the “cradle of the world’s top engineers”, and the business school is the darling of Wall Street. UCB’s latest achievements in professions ranking is as follows:

Civil engineering, environmental engineering, data analysis, economics, and psychology ranked Top 1 in the United States; materials engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical/electronic/communication engineering, entrepreneurship, management, and computer systems ranked top 3 in the United States; chemical engineering, manufacturing engineering, business analysis, finance, international business, marketing, artificial intelligence, network security, programming ranked top 10.

UCB in the United States is the Target School of companies in the technology industry, including investment banking, consulting, private equity, hedge funds, and other related fields. With the school’s resources, it is not difficult for students to enter these companies!

Should graduation salary be one of the criteria for choosing a university?

When students choose universities, many elements are being considered. The potential for a lucrative post-graduation salary should be considered when selecting a university, but it should not be the sole factor in one’s decision-making process. Having a clear understanding of prospective financial outcomes is undeniably important, especially with the rising costs of higher education and the financial burdens that can accompany student loans. However, weighing this alongside other qualitative factors contributing to a well-rounded education and personal growth is equally critical. A university experience enriched with diverse perspectives, robust academic challenges, and ample opportunities for personal development can significantly impact one’s career trajectory and life satisfaction beyond mere financial returns. Thus, while graduation salary can serve as a criterion, it should be balanced with other considerations to ensure a fulfilling educational and personal experience.