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Program ranking · CIP 14.xx family bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Engineering

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings inside the CIP 14 engineering family. For each school we take its highest published bachelor's CIP median with at least 25 completers - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment.

$250,168
Highest engineering earnings
100
Colleges ranked
$109,054
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $109,054 median earnings for Engineering bachelor's (CIP 14.xx family) completers. Carnegie Mellon University leads at $250,168.

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

$250,168
#1 - Carnegie Mellon University
$109,054
#100 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
100+
schools with a published CIP-14 median

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

Top 15 engineering programs by median completer earnings

Engineering bachelor's (CIP 14.xx family) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Engineering pay varies sharply by subfield and metro market - a school's listed CIP is the one that produced its highest published completer median, not a composite of every major.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateTop engineering CIPMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 Carnegie Mellon University PA Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $250,168 $22,224 166
2 University of California-Los Angeles CA Computer Engineering $228,705 $13,500 96
3 University of California-Berkeley CA Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $200,543 $13,674 528
4 Duke University NC Computer Engineering $174,522 $14,500 134
5 University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA Computer Engineering $169,570 $15,422 49
6 Columbia University in the City of New York NY Operations Research $167,572 - 73
7 University of Southern California CA Computer Engineering $166,369 $6,625 45
8 Santa Clara University CA Computer Engineering $163,765 $24,833 83
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $161,118 $10,967 73
10 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL Computer Engineering $159,855 $20,500 318
11 Bucknell University PA Computer Engineering $156,885 - 32
12 University of Maryland-College Park MD Computer Engineering $152,422 $20,417 117
13 Cornell University NY Operations Research $151,709 $15,000 80
14 University of California-San Diego CA Computer Engineering $149,139 $18,414 167
15 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA Computer Engineering $148,950 $20,556 158
16 University of Virginia-Main Campus VA Computer Engineering $148,175 $16,875 51
17 The University of Texas at Austin TX Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $146,003 $20,480 320
18 University of California-Davis CA Computer Engineering $145,422 $12,703 119
19 University of Tulsa OK Petroleum Engineering $145,353 $26,950 25
20 University of California-Santa Barbara CA Computer Engineering $144,703 $14,410 72
21 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI Computer Engineering $142,071 $19,500 116
22 Texas Tech University TX Petroleum Engineering $139,864 $24,850 43
23 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art NY Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $139,068 - 31
24 Northwestern University IL Industrial Engineering $138,720 $18,000 55
25 Maine Maritime Academy ME Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering $137,352 $27,000 61
26 Rice University TX Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $136,656 - 49
27 Northeastern University MA Computer Engineering $135,416 $25,002 114
28 Boston University MA Computer Engineering $135,394 $25,984 122
29 Franklin W Olin College of Engineering MA Engineering, General $135,136 $14,512 38
30 Brigham Young University UT Computer Engineering $133,111 $11,000 97
31 University of California-Irvine CA Computer Engineering $132,357 $19,000 246
32 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA Computer Engineering $128,497 $20,000 157
33 University of Florida FL Computer Engineering $128,140 $20,447 118
34 Stony Brook University NY Computer Engineering $128,038 $19,750 56
35 New York University NY Computer Engineering $127,201 $19,000 38
36 Texas A&M University-College Station TX Computer Engineering $127,042 $21,750 192
37 University of Pennsylvania PA Biomedical/Medical Engineering $126,419 $15,593 53
38 Cal Poly Maritime Academy CA Mechanical Engineering $126,395 $19,690 42
39 University of New Mexico-Main Campus NM Computer Engineering $126,356 - 28
40 Massachusetts Maritime Academy MA Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering $125,016 $27,000 59
41 University of California-Santa Cruz CA Computer Engineering $124,641 $23,434 132
42 Stevens Institute of Technology NJ Computer Engineering $124,037 $26,930 111
43 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH Computer Engineering $123,731 $19,500 404
44 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK Petroleum Engineering $123,416 $23,000 39
45 Rochester Institute of Technology NY Computer Engineering $123,027 $28,000 149
46 Harvey Mudd College CA Engineering, General $122,845 $22,240 51
47 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA Computer Engineering $122,026 $25,929 184
48 Vanderbilt University TN Chemical Engineering $121,641 - 26
49 Lehigh University PA Industrial Engineering $121,498 $23,834 39
50 Utah Valley University UT Computer Engineering $121,466 $13,421 38
51 Purdue University-Main Campus IN Computer Engineering $121,462 $22,875 297
52 Kettering University MI Computer Engineering $120,531 $29,984 35
53 University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Computer Engineering $120,068 - 115
54 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Computer Engineering $119,781 $22,350 61
55 Villanova University PA Computer Engineering $119,137 $26,000 41
56 George Mason University VA Computer Engineering $117,942 $25,500 32
57 Binghamton University NY Computer Engineering $117,721 $19,000 51
58 Drexel University PA Computer Engineering $117,537 $27,000 80
59 CUNY City College NY Computer Engineering $117,131 - 54
60 Stanford University CA Mechanical Engineering $117,072 - 49
61 San Diego State University CA Computer Engineering $116,842 $17,249 116
62 Colorado School of Mines CO Petroleum Engineering $116,691 $26,500 86
63 University of Colorado Boulder CO Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering $116,350 $24,500 199
64 University of Washington-Bothell Campus WA Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $116,010 $14,000 76
65 Prairie View A & M University TX Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $115,939 $25,000 25
66 Princeton University NJ Mechanical Engineering $115,927 - 53
67 Lafayette College PA Chemical Engineering $115,726 $17,000 31
68 University of Connecticut CT Computer Engineering $115,117 $20,134 84
69 Illinois Institute of Technology IL Computer Engineering $114,930 $26,000 25
70 Florida State University FL Computer Engineering $114,802 $23,250 34
71 Johns Hopkins University MD Biomedical/Medical Engineering $114,673 $11,207 100
72 Washington State University WA Computer Engineering $114,635 $19,902 46
73 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College LA Chemical Engineering $114,226 $20,500 82
74 University of Utah UT Computer Engineering $114,197 $18,970 28
75 Dartmouth College NH Engineering Science $113,749 $17,083 94
76 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA Petroleum Engineering $113,669 $22,837 32
77 University of Notre Dame IN Chemical Engineering $113,614 $16,750 78
78 University of Maryland-Baltimore County MD Computer Engineering $113,299 $19,744 48
79 University of Massachusetts-Amherst MA Computer Engineering $113,083 $27,000 57
80 Tulane University of Louisiana LA Biomedical/Medical Engineering $112,914 $22,500 32
81 Sonoma State University CA Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $112,757 - 25
82 The University of Texas at Dallas TX Computer Engineering $112,666 $21,375 200
83 Arizona State University Digital Immersion AZ Computer Engineering $112,543 $25,000 132
84 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ Computer Engineering $112,543 $25,000 115
85 San Francisco State University CA Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $112,454 $16,125 38
86 Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College PA Computer Engineering $112,269 $26,471 41
87 University of Georgia GA Biochemical Engineering $111,951 $19,000 32
88 University of Michigan-Dearborn MI Computer Engineering $111,740 $21,064 36
89 Worcester Polytechnic Institute MA Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering $111,103 $27,000 84
90 Auburn University AL Computer Engineering $110,927 $20,000 112
91 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus CO Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering $110,754 $29,014 50
92 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus PA Computer Engineering $110,417 $26,489 99
93 North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC Computer Engineering $110,416 $22,681 136
94 University of Houston TX Chemical Engineering $110,184 $19,228 74
95 North Carolina A & T State University NC Chemical Engineering $109,537 $23,272 33
96 University at Buffalo NY Computer Engineering $109,221 $20,500 33
97 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology IN Computer Engineering $109,164 $24,834 61
98 University of North Texas TX Computer Engineering $109,151 $22,590 30
99 University of South Carolina-Columbia SC Computer Engineering $109,116 $25,675 40
100 University of South Florida FL Computer Engineering $109,054 $23,172 52

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by the highest College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings among bachelor's CIP 14.xx engineering programs at that school. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts, then CIP code. The winning CIP title appears in the table. 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. Engineering, General (CIP 14.01) alone is too thin for a national list, so this ranking uses each school's highest-earning bachelor's CIP inside the CIP 14 engineering family (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, and related). The winning CIP is shown per school.

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.