Highest graduate earnings – master's universities

These 50 master's universities rank highest by median earnings 10 years after entry, drawn from 265 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2020-21 (Scorecard). California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, CA) leads at $90,768.

Institutions ranked by Median earnings (10 yr).
#	Institution	Median earnings (10 yr)
1	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoCA · Public	$90,768
2	Providence CollegeRI · Private	$87,054
3	Manhattan UniversityNY · Private	$86,316
4	Dominican University of CaliforniaCA · Private	$84,713
5	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-WorldwideFL · Private	$84,131
6	Loyola University MarylandMD · Private	$82,652
7	Saint Mary's College of CaliforniaCA · Private	$78,812
8	Excelsior UniversityNY · Private	$78,493
9	University of Washington-Bothell CampusWA · Public	$78,466
10	University of Washington-Tacoma CampusWA · Public	$78,466
11	Marist UniversityNY · Private	$77,819
12	Merrimack CollegeMA · Private	$75,584
13	Assumption UniversityMA · Private	$74,895
14	Wagner CollegeNY · Private	$74,360
15	Iona UniversityNY · Private	$73,595
16	The College of New JerseyNJ · Public	$73,323
17	Salve Regina UniversityRI · Private	$72,975
18	University of RedlandsCA · Private	$72,690
19	Citadel Military College of South CarolinaSC · Public	$72,085
20	California State University-East BayCA · Public	$71,401
21	Thomas Edison State UniversityNJ · Public	$69,331
22	Mount Saint Mary CollegeNY · Private	$67,705
23	Ramapo College of New JerseyNJ · Public	$67,541
24	Lewis UniversityIL · Private	$66,099
25	Sonoma State UniversityCA · Public	$65,986
26	University of Mount Saint VincentNY · Private	$65,756
27	Norwich UniversityVT · Private	$65,575
28	Metropolitan State UniversityMN · Public	$64,705
29	Towson UniversityMD · Public	$64,390
30	SUNY Polytechnic InstituteNY · Public	$64,355
31	California State University-ChicoCA · Public	$64,172
32	Mount St. Mary's UniversityMD · Private	$64,072
33	Point Loma Nazarene UniversityCA · Private	$63,998
34	St. Joseph's University-New YorkNY · Private	$63,905
35	Ithaca CollegeNY · Private	$63,548
36	University of Arkansas GranthamAR · Public	$63,496
37	Pennsylvania State University-World CampusPA · Public	$63,435
38	Valparaiso UniversityIN · Private	$63,191
39	California State University-StanislausCA · Public	$63,188
40	California State University-San MarcosCA · Public	$62,908
41	John Carroll UniversityOH · Private	$62,860
42	CUNY Queens CollegeNY · Public	$62,763
43	Le Moyne CollegeNY · Private	$62,731
44	University of Minnesota-DuluthMN · Public	$62,616
45	Western Washington UniversityWA · Public	$62,569
46	Rider UniversityNJ · Private	$62,208
47	Stevenson UniversityMD · Private	$62,079
48	Moravian UniversityPA · Private	$61,860
49	La Sierra UniversityCA · Private	$61,824
50	University of Wisconsin-PlattevilleWI · Public	$61,760

Limited to institutions with at least 1,000 undergraduates, so a handful of students cannot top the list. 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 master's universities ranks highest by median earnings 10 years after entry?

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, CA), at $90,768. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 265 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by median earnings 10 years after entry, from College Scorecard, 2020-21. 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 collections the tool uses, taking the most recent figure published for the metric it ranks: College Scorecard, 2020-21. 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.