Highest graduate earnings – doctoral research universities

These 50 doctoral research universities rank highest by median earnings 10 years after entry, drawn from 458 institutions with reported data in the most recent U.S. Department of Education release (2024-25). Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) leads at $143,372.

#	Institution	Median earnings (10 yr)
1	Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMA · Private	$143,372
2	California Institute of TechnologyCA · Private	$128,566
3	Stanford UniversityCA · Private	$124,080
4	Carnegie Mellon UniversityPA · Private	$114,862
5	University of PennsylvaniaPA · Private	$111,371
6	Princeton UniversityNJ · Private	$110,066
7	Santa Clara UniversityCA · Private	$109,183
8	Stevens Institute of TechnologyNJ · Private	$108,772
9	Lehigh UniversityPA · Private	$105,584
10	Cornell UniversityNY · Private	$104,043
11	Boston CollegeMA · Private	$103,937
12	Georgetown UniversityDC · Private	$103,494
13	Worcester Polytechnic InstituteMA · Private	$103,470
14	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main CampusGA · Public	$102,772
15	Columbia University in the City of New YorkNY · Private	$102,491
16	Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteNY · Private	$102,051
17	Harvard UniversityMA · Private	$101,817
18	Yale UniversityCT · Private	$100,533
19	Villanova UniversityPA · Private	$100,423
20	University of Notre DameIN · Private	$99,980
21	Duke UniversityNC · Private	$97,800
22	Dartmouth CollegeNH · Private	$97,434
23	Colorado School of MinesCO · Public	$97,335
24	Brown UniversityRI · Private	$93,487
25	Northeastern UniversityMA · Private	$92,538
26	Northeastern University Professional ProgramsMA · Private	$92,538
27	University of Southern CaliforniaCA · Private	$92,498
28	University of California-BerkeleyCA · Public	$92,446
29	University of ChicagoIL · Private	$91,885
30	Vanderbilt UniversityTN · Private	$91,565
31	George Washington UniversityDC · Private	$90,873
32	Loma Linda UniversityCA · Private	$89,816
33	University of San FranciscoCA · Private	$89,812
34	Rice UniversityTX · Private	$89,718
35	Clarkson UniversityNY · Private	$89,696
36	Northwestern UniversityIL · Private	$89,363
37	Fairfield UniversityCT · Private	$88,794
38	Case Western Reserve UniversityOH · Private	$87,989
39	Johns Hopkins UniversityMD · Private	$87,555
40	University of Virginia-Main CampusVA · Public	$86,863
41	University of San DiegoCA · Private	$86,522
42	Washington University in St LouisMO · Private	$86,182
43	Fordham UniversityNY · Private	$85,569
44	Capitol Technology UniversityMD · Private	$85,035
45	University of California-San DiegoCA · Public	$84,943
46	Drexel UniversityPA · Private	$84,648
47	New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNJ · Public	$84,276
48	Quinnipiac UniversityCT · Private	$83,759
49	University of Michigan-Ann ArborMI · Public	$83,648
50	Boston UniversityMA · Private	$83,238

A data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement or quality rating. Ranked solely on the metric named above using the most recent College Scorecard & IPEDS release, which lags the current academic year by 2–3 years. Institutions that do not report this metric are excluded. Figures and peer context appear on each institution’s profile.

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Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent release, 2024-25), with NSF NCSES (HERD), the Clery Act & EADA collections, Census ACS, BLS Employment Projections, WICHE & the FSA Direct Loan Dashboard. Compiled by Ibex Insights. For informational benchmarking only, not financial, investment, or accreditation advice. See the methodology.