Program ranking · CIP 14.09 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Computer Engineering

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Computer Engineering (CIP 14.09) 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

$228,705
Highest computer engineering earnings: 100
Colleges ranked: $97,547
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $97,547 median earnings for Computer Engineering bachelor's (CIP 14.09) completers. University of California-Los Angeles leads at $228,705.

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

$228,705
#1 - University of California-Los: $97,547
#100 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 363
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.

University of California…

$228,705
Duke University

$174,522
University of Washington…

$169,570
University of Southern C…

$166,369
Santa Clara University

$163,765
University of Illinois U…

$159,855
Bucknell University

$156,885
University of Maryland-C…

$152,422
University of California…

$149,139
California Polytechnic S…

$148,950
University of Virginia-M…

$148,175
University of California…

$145,422
University of California…

$144,703
University of Michigan-A…

$142,071
Northeastern University

$135,416

What this shows Computer-engineering medians mix hardware, embedded, and systems roles - debt still matters when chip-cycle hiring swings pay bands.

The full top 100

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$228,705	$13,500	96
2	Duke University	NC	$174,522	$14,500	134
3	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	$169,570	$15,422	49
4	University of Southern California	CA	$166,369	$6,625	45
5	Santa Clara University	CA	$163,765	$24,833	83
6	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$159,855	$20,500	318
7	Bucknell University	PA	$156,885	-	32
8	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	$152,422	$20,417	117
9	University of California-San Diego	CA	$149,139	$18,414	167
10	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$148,950	$20,556	158
11	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	$148,175	$16,875	51
12	University of California-Davis	CA	$145,422	$12,703	119
13	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$144,703	$14,410	72
14	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	$142,071	$19,500	116
15	Northeastern University	MA	$135,416	$25,002	114
16	Boston University	MA	$135,394	$25,984	122
17	Brigham Young University	UT	$133,111	$11,000	97
18	University of California-Irvine	CA	$132,357	$19,000	246
19	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	GA	$128,497	$20,000	157
20	University of Florida	FL	$128,140	$20,447	118
21	Stony Brook University	NY	$128,038	$19,750	56
22	New York University	NY	$127,201	$19,000	38
23	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	$127,042	$21,750	192
24	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$126,356	-	28
25	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	$124,641	$23,434	132
26	Stevens Institute of Technology	NJ	$124,037	$26,930	111
27	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$123,731	$19,500	404
28	Rochester Institute of Technology	NY	$123,027	$28,000	149
29	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	$122,026	$25,929	184
30	Utah Valley University	UT	$121,466	$13,421	38
31	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	$121,462	$22,875	297
32	Kettering University	MI	$120,531	$29,984	35
33	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$120,068	-	115
34	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$119,781	$22,350	61
35	Villanova University	PA	$119,137	$26,000	41
36	George Mason University	VA	$117,942	$25,500	32
37	Binghamton University	NY	$117,721	$19,000	51
38	Drexel University	PA	$117,537	$27,000	80
39	CUNY City College	NY	$117,131	-	54
40	San Diego State University	CA	$116,842	$17,249	116
41	University of Connecticut	CT	$115,117	$20,134	84
42	Illinois Institute of Technology	IL	$114,930	$26,000	25
43	Florida State University	FL	$114,802	$23,250	34
44	Washington State University	WA	$114,635	$19,902	46
45	University of Utah	UT	$114,197	$18,970	28
46	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	$113,299	$19,744	48
47	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	$113,083	$27,000	57
48	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	$112,666	$21,375	200
49	Arizona State University Digital Immersion	AZ	$112,543	$25,000	132
50	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	$112,543	$25,000	115
51	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	$112,269	$26,471	81
52	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College	PA	$112,269	$26,471	41
53	University of Michigan-Dearborn	MI	$111,740	$21,064	36
54	Auburn University	AL	$110,927	$20,000	112
55	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	$110,417	$26,489	99
56	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	$110,416	$22,681	136
57	University at Buffalo	NY	$109,221	$20,500	33
58	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	IN	$109,164	$24,834	61
59	University of North Texas	TX	$109,151	$22,590	30
60	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	$109,116	$25,675	40
61	University of South Florida	FL	$109,054	$23,172	52
62	Clarkson University	NY	$107,790	$27,000	28
63	University of Houston	TX	$107,283	$21,582	30
64	University of California-Riverside	CA	$107,193	$25,083	48
65	Saint Cloud State University	MN	$107,133	$24,215	30
66	University of Central Florida	FL	$106,680	$18,750	192
67	Florida Institute of Technology	FL	$106,431	$24,625	41
68	University of Alabama in Huntsville	AL	$105,920	$21,500	71
69	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	$105,871	$19,083	103
70	Iowa State University	IA	$105,753	$23,750	295
71	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach	FL	$105,527	$26,293	31
72	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	$105,525	$22,383	40
73	Michigan State University	MI	$104,627	$23,000	56
74	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$104,394	$17,500	60
75	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$103,934	$20,240	83
76	California State University-Fresno	CA	$103,896	$24,000	30
77	Milwaukee School of Engineering	WI	$103,360	$27,000	73
78	Kennesaw State University	GA	$103,054	$23,250	116
79	Clemson University	SC	$102,762	$26,179	48
80	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	$102,691	$19,250	72
81	University of California-Merced	CA	$102,575	$19,003	219
82	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	$102,273	$20,700	59
83	California State University-Fullerton	CA	$101,408	$16,500	60
84	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$101,279	$22,125	27
85	Florida International University	FL	$101,224	$18,124	121
86	California State University-Northridge	CA	$101,021	$18,346	35
87	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$100,673	$20,000	97
88	University of Kentucky	KY	$99,945	$21,500	54
89	New Jersey Institute of Technology	NJ	$99,880	$19,959	45
90	University of Georgia	GA	$99,739	$17,278	31
91	Missouri University of Science and Technology	MO	$99,620	$27,000	71
92	Wentworth Institute of Technology	MA	$99,093	$27,000	34
93	West Virginia University	WV	$99,048	$23,000	41
94	University of Arkansas	AR	$99,031	$25,957	25
95	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$98,967	$17,129	55
96	Florida Gulf Coast University	FL	$98,650	$21,500	68
97	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	$98,567	$28,020	25
98	Wright State University-Main Campus	OH	$97,659	$17,778	29
99	Marquette University	WI	$97,608	$24,767	30
100	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	$97,547	$26,277	66

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Computer Engineering (CIP 14.09) 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 Computer Engineering (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 Computer Engineering (CIP 14.09) bachelor's programs - computer science (CIP 11.07) and electrical engineering (CIP 14.10) are ranked on their own pages.

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.