Business Insider
The 25 colleges where students go on to earn the most money
By: Jacquelyn Smith
Salary potential shouldn't be the sole thing that attracts you to a particular college or university. But with average student-loan debt hovering around $37,000, students and parents can't afford not to consider average post-graduation earnings while looking at schools.
PayScale, the creator of the world's largest compensation database, recently looked at the starting and mid-career pay for over a million college grads — including professionals who graduated with a bachelor's from 963 colleges and universities.
For its College Salary Report, which was compiled using data from employees who successfully completed PayScale's employee survey, PayScale sorted the results by college major, degree, and school.
Here are the colleges where students with a bachelor's degree go on to earn the most money 10-plus years into their career:
24. (tie) Colgate University
Early career median pay: $56,500
Mid-career median pay: $113,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,875
24. (tie) Rice University
Early career median pay: $62,300
Mid-career median pay: $113,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,926
22. (tie) Georgetown University
Early career median pay: $55,400
Mid-career median pay: $114,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,595
22. (tie) Colorado School of Mines
Early career median pay: $65,200
Mid-career median pay: $114,000
Sector: Public
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,456
21. University of Chicago
Early career median pay: $53,000
Mid-career median pay: $115,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,738
20. Brown University
Early career median pay: $58,600
Mid-career median pay: $116,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,548
17. (tie) Occidental College
Early career median pay: $49,200
Mid-career median pay: $117,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,040
17. (tie) Clarkson University
Early career median pay: $61,700
Mid-career median pay: $117,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,247
17. (tie) Stevens Institute of Technology
Early career median pay: $65,600
Mid-career median pay: $117,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,892
13. (tie) Bates College
Early career median pay: $47,000
Mid-career median pay: $119,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,773
13. (tie) Dartmouth College
Early career median pay: $60,800
Mid-career median pay: $119,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,289
13. (tie) Duke University
Early career median pay: $61,300
Mid-career median pay: $119,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,626
13. (tie) Carnegie Mellon University
Early career median pay: $69,400
Mid-career median pay: $119,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,888
12. Santa Clara University
Early career median pay: $61,900
Mid-career median pay: $121,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,486
11. Babson College
Early career median pay: $59,500
Mid-career median pay: $122,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,107
10. Harvard University
Early career median pay: $65,200
Mid-career median pay: $123,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 10,338
8. (tie) University of Pennsylvania
Early career median pay: $62,200
Mid-career median pay: $124,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 11,548
8. (tie) United States Air Force Academy
Early career median pay: $68,800
Mid-career median pay: $124,000
Sector: Public
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,952
7. United States Naval Academy at Annapolis
Early career median pay: $72,900
Mid-career median pay: $125,000
Sector: Public
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,511
6. United States Military Academy at West Point
Early career median pay: $76,000
Mid-career median pay: $126,000
Sector: Public
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,414
5. Stanford University
Early career median pay: $70,800
Mid-career median pay: $127,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,019
3. (tie) Princeton University
Early career median pay: $65,700
Mid-career median pay: $131,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,391
3. (tie) Harvey Mudd College
Early career median pay: $78,500
Mid-career median pay: $131,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 804
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Early career median pay: $78,300
Mid-career median pay: $134,000
Sector: Private
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,512
1. SUNY — Maritime College
Early career median pay: $69,700
Mid-career median pay: $144,000
Sector: Public
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,641
