Program ranking · CIP 04.02 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Architecture

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Architecture (CIP 04.02) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$76,969
Highest architecture earnings: 50
Colleges ranked: $45,710
#50 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $45,710 median earnings for Architecture bachelor's (CIP 04.02) completers. California State Polytechnic University-Pomona leads at $76,969.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$76,969
#1 - California State Polytechnic: $45,710
#50 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 126
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

California State Polytec…

$76,969
The University of Texas at

$76,808
University of California…

$76,679
Pennsylvania State Unive…

$76,181
Rensselaer Polytechnic I…

$75,551
Drexel University

$72,915
University of Nevada-Las…

$72,468
Auburn University

$72,420
Georgia Institute of Tec…

$71,292
Kennesaw State University

$70,752
University of Houston

$70,616
University of Virginia-M…

$70,213
Drury University

$70,134
Florida Agricultural and…

$69,874
The Catholic University …

$69,838

What this shows Architecture pay clusters in major metros and selective design schools - licensure paths and studio culture vary by campus even when medians look similar.

The full top 50

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$76,969	$28,040	107
2	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	$76,808	$21,000	65
3	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$76,679	$15,000	113
4	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	$76,181	$30,440	50
5	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	NY	$75,551	$31,000	57
6	Drexel University	PA	$72,915	$31,000	28
7	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$72,468	$22,278	26
8	Auburn University	AL	$72,420	$28,000	62
9	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	GA	$71,292	$28,192	41
10	Kennesaw State University	GA	$70,752	$31,000	48
11	University of Houston	TX	$70,616	$26,125	95
12	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	$70,213	$20,784	73
13	Drury University	MO	$70,134	$31,000	30
14	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	FL	$69,874	$26,000	38
15	The Catholic University of America	DC	$69,838	$26,712	59
16	Mississippi State University	MS	$69,699	$31,000	26
17	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	$69,515	$19,748	68
18	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	$69,029	$26,500	40
19	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$68,765	$31,000	72
20	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	$68,527	$20,913	124
21	University of Arkansas	AR	$67,955	$26,250	60
22	University of Florida	FL	$67,399	$18,953	92
23	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	$67,204	$26,000	37
24	Marywood University	PA	$67,178	$31,000	34
25	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$66,131	$25,500	75
26	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	$65,449	$22,600	88
27	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	$65,148	$26,875	58
28	Roger Williams University	RI	$65,092	$27,000	63
29	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	$65,015	$15,000	52
30	University of Central Florida	FL	$64,826	$10,750	39
31	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	$64,643	$17,781	90
32	Clemson University	SC	$63,892	$21,500	86
33	Texas Tech University	TX	$63,871	$20,000	117
34	Judson University	IL	$63,846	$26,442	27
35	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	$62,803	$24,237	82
36	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$62,700	$25,260	45
37	Prairie View A & M University	TX	$62,540	$30,000	37
38	University of Kentucky	KY	$62,383	$20,815	57
39	Portland State University	OR	$62,349	$25,000	57
40	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	$62,345	$23,535	80
41	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$62,246	$20,412	100
42	University at Buffalo	NY	$61,525	$22,536	70
43	Keene State College	NH	$61,304	$26,860	38
44	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	$60,297	$20,011	70
45	Morgan State University	MD	$59,586	$27,063	39
46	Kent State University at Kent	OH	$59,299	$25,250	104
47	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$57,778	$22,000	69
48	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	$56,975	$23,080	56
49	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$48,424	-	63
50	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce	PR	$45,710	$31,000	27

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Architecture (CIP 04.02) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Architecture (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Architecture (CIP 04.02) bachelor's programs only - landscape architecture (CIP 04.06), interior architecture (CIP 04.05), and naval architecture (CIP 14.22) are ranked separately when demand warrants.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.