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Program ranking · CIP 14.35 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Industrial 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 Industrial Engineering (CIP 14.35) 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.

$138,720
Highest industrial engineering earnings
64
Colleges ranked
$56,541
#64 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $56,541 median earnings for Industrial Engineering bachelor's (CIP 14.35) completers. Northwestern University leads at $138,720.

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

$138,720
#1 - Northwestern University
$56,541
#64 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
133
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.

Top 15 industrial engineering programs by median completer earnings

Industrial Engineering bachelor's (CIP 14.35) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Industrial-engineering medians track operations, manufacturing, and systems roles - debt still matters when plant and logistics hiring swings.

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

The full top 64

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 Northwestern University IL $138,720 $18,000 55
2 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA $128,003 $19,791 382
3 Lehigh University PA $121,498 $23,834 39
4 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $117,930 $19,750 170
5 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA $116,641 $22,625 191
6 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA $112,797 $19,691 72
7 University of Southern California CA $112,150 $17,704 57
8 University of Connecticut CT $111,672 $24,889 47
9 Northeastern University MA $111,430 $25,000 84
10 University of Wisconsin-Madison WI $110,711 $23,481 118
11 University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $109,575 $16,743 43
12 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville TN $107,093 $21,500 43
13 Purdue University-Main Campus IN $107,031 $18,357 262
14 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $106,932 $21,000 156
15 Rochester Institute of Technology NY $105,313 $30,677 41
16 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA $104,758 $24,250 154
17 University of Louisville KY $104,538 $23,000 28
18 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL $103,143 $21,299 79
19 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ $102,439 $19,189 77
20 Oakland University MI $102,222 $28,500 28
21 Oregon State University OR $101,653 $21,899 43
22 New Jersey Institute of Technology NJ $101,547 $25,000 34
23 University of Missouri-Columbia MO $101,380 $26,512 28
24 North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC $100,172 $21,096 102
25 Auburn University AL $99,441 $23,250 96
26 West Virginia University WV $99,180 $25,048 105
27 University of Miami FL $99,068 $15,110 45
28 University of Arkansas AR $98,765 $25,405 61
29 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus PA $98,654 $24,375 68
30 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY $98,509 $22,500 56
31 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK $98,394 $27,000 54
32 Texas Tech University TX $98,266 $28,500 45
33 University of Massachusetts-Amherst MA $97,791 $26,111 30
34 The University of Texas at Arlington TX $97,788 $18,359 27
35 Florida State University FL $96,504 $19,375 33
36 Texas A&M University-College Station TX $95,918 $18,749 261
37 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona CA $95,835 $25,000 55
38 Binghamton University NY $95,354 $20,500 66
39 University of Iowa IA $95,347 $21,375 29
40 University of Alabama in Huntsville AL $95,153 $27,997 38
41 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College LA $94,748 $21,500 54
42 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus OK $94,692 $26,000 43
43 Rutgers University-New Brunswick NJ $94,382 $26,855 41
44 North Carolina A & T State University NC $93,183 $31,000 43
45 Kansas State University KS $93,098 $24,399 50
46 Iowa State University IA $92,914 $23,250 132
47 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology SD $92,815 $25,000 27
48 Clemson University SC $92,491 $24,000 201
49 Mississippi State University MS $92,332 $27,000 53
50 Western Michigan University MI $92,306 - 34
51 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN $92,241 $21,500 76
52 University of Central Florida FL $91,630 $23,269 131
53 Texas State University TX $90,729 $24,483 34
54 University of South Florida FL $90,040 $20,521 55
55 University of Wisconsin-Platteville WI $88,918 $27,275 31
56 Montana State University MT $88,087 $26,000 33
57 Kettering University MI $86,265 - 27
58 University of Illinois Chicago IL $86,202 $20,341 31
59 University at Buffalo NY $86,118 $20,875 54
60 North Dakota State University-Main Campus ND $84,016 $25,625 39
61 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville IL $82,744 - 49
62 The University of Texas at El Paso TX $82,391 $16,104 61
63 University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez PR $75,096 $10,000 97
64 Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon PR $56,541 $10,525 26

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Industrial Engineering (CIP 14.35) 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 Industrial 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 Industrial Engineering (CIP 14.35) bachelor's programs - mechanical engineering (CIP 14.19) and management science paths 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.