Highest graduate earnings – baccalaureate colleges
These 50 baccalaureate colleges rank highest by median earnings 10 years after entry, drawn from 291 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2020-21 (Scorecard). Claremont McKenna College (Claremont, CA) leads at $104,736.
| # | Institution | Median earnings (10 yr) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claremont McKenna CollegeCA · Private | $104,736 |
| 2 | Washington and Lee UniversityVA · Private | $94,810 |
| 3 | Bucknell UniversityPA · Private | $93,807 |
| 4 | Lafayette CollegePA · Private | $91,410 |
| 5 | Trinity CollegeCT · Private | $90,779 |
| 6 | College of the Holy CrossMA · Private | $90,543 |
| 7 | Williams CollegeMA · Private | $88,665 |
| 8 | Union CollegeNY · Private | $88,604 |
| 9 | Colgate UniversityNY · Private | $85,139 |
| 10 | Wellesley CollegeMA · Private | $84,803 |
| 11 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-PrescottAZ · Private | $84,131 |
| 12 | Bowdoin CollegeME · Private | $82,735 |
| 13 | Davidson CollegeNC · Private | $81,400 |
| 14 | Ohio Northern UniversityOH · Private | $80,928 |
| 15 | Barnard CollegeNY · Private | $80,516 |
| 16 | Colby CollegeME · Private | $80,490 |
| 17 | Swarthmore CollegePA · Private | $80,257 |
| 18 | Haverford CollegePA · Private | $79,966 |
| 19 | Linfield UniversityOR · Private | $78,638 |
| 20 | Hamilton CollegeNY · Private | $78,411 |
| 21 | Pomona CollegeCA · Private | $77,779 |
| 22 | Stonehill CollegeMA · Private | $77,745 |
| 23 | Amherst CollegeMA · Private | $77,644 |
| 24 | Scripps CollegeCA · Private | $77,539 |
| 25 | Virginia Military InstituteVA · Public | $77,369 |
| 26 | Saint Johns UniversityMN · Private | $76,786 |
| 27 | Middlebury CollegeVT · Private | $76,310 |
| 28 | University of RichmondVA · Private | $76,178 |
| 29 | Franklin and Marshall CollegePA · Private | $76,124 |
| 30 | Occidental CollegeCA · Private | $75,951 |
| 31 | Carleton CollegeMN · Private | $75,525 |
| 32 | Bryn Mawr CollegePA · Private | $75,217 |
| 33 | Connecticut CollegeCT · Private | $75,001 |
| 34 | Wesleyan UniversityCT · Private | $73,897 |
| 35 | Ursinus CollegePA · Private | $73,721 |
| 36 | Saint Anselm CollegeNH · Private | $73,371 |
| 37 | Oregon Institute of TechnologyOR · Public | $72,273 |
| 38 | Kenyon CollegeOH · Private | $71,830 |
| 39 | Trinity UniversityTX · Private | $71,668 |
| 40 | University of Florida-OnlineFL · Public | $71,588 |
| 41 | Gettysburg CollegePA · Private | $71,517 |
| 42 | Vassar CollegeNY · Private | $71,366 |
| 43 | Illinois Wesleyan UniversityIL · Private | $70,871 |
| 44 | DePauw UniversityIN · Private | $70,527 |
| 45 | Dickinson CollegePA · Private | $70,204 |
| 46 | Farmingdale State CollegeNY · Public | $69,781 |
| 47 | University of Puget SoundWA · Private | $69,594 |
| 48 | Pitzer CollegeCA · Private | $69,512 |
| 49 | Bates CollegeME · Private | $69,498 |
| 50 | Skidmore CollegeNY · Private | $69,363 |
A data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement or quality rating. Ranked solely on the metric named above using U.S. Department of Education data for 2020-21 (Scorecard); federal collections lag the current academic year, and some measures are no longer published at all, so the most recent figure is not always a recent one. Institutions that do not report this metric are excluded. Figures and peer context appear on each institution’s profile.
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Frequently asked
Which of these baccalaureate colleges ranks highest by median earnings 10 years after entry?
Claremont McKenna College (Claremont, CA), at $104,736. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 291 with reported data.
How is this ranking calculated?
On one disclosed metric only: by median earnings 10 years after entry, from College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2020-21 (Scorecard). Institutions that do not report the metric are excluded. It is a data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement, quality rating or reputation survey, and no part of it is estimated or AI-generated.
How current is the data?
This list is built from the College Scorecard release of June 10, 2026 and the newest IPEDS collection on disk, using the most recent figure each of them publishes for the metric it ranks: College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2020-21 (Scorecard). Federal collections lag the current academic year by two to three years, so the newest published figure is not always a recent one; the release the leaderboard is dated on is printed under it.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (each measure carries its own collection year; see the methodology), 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.