Chemical Engineering Programs in the United States (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in the United States
This page ranks the 153 Chemical Engineering programs in the United States by median earnings of Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads the list at $122,093, followed by Vanderbilt University at $121,641 and University of California-Berkeley at $121,027.
Across the listed schools, the median figure is $97,184, with a spread of $66,581 from the top to the bottom of the table.
Public institutions account for 71% of the programs on the page. CUNY City College posts the lowest average net price at $3,776, while University of California-San Diego ranks 1st on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge, MA | $122,093 | $20,111 | -$2,533* | 4.6% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports median earnings of $122,093 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside an admission rate of 5%. | |||||
| 2 | Vanderbilt University · Nashville, TN | $121,641 | $15,846 | $3,414 | 5.9% |
| Vanderbilt University's borrowers who completed across all fields left with a median federal debt of $14,000, and its Chemical Engineering completers earned a median of $121,641 four years after completing. | |||||
| 3 | University of California-Berkeley · Berkeley, CA | $121,027 | $13,481 | $5,311 | 11.0% |
| University of California-Berkeley ranks 3rd on this list and posts an average net price of $13,481, with median earnings of $121,027 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 4 | Cornell University · Ithaca, NY | $116,165 | $28,690 | $1,776 | 8.8% |
| Cornell University admits 9% of applicants and its Chemical Engineering graduates earned a median of $116,165 four years after completing. | |||||
| 5 | Lafayette College · Easton, PA | $115,726 | $34,433 | $12,716 | 31.5% |
| Lafayette College reports median earnings of $115,726 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing, and a median federal debt of $17,000 among Chemical Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 6 | The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX | $115,423 | $19,857 | $12,553 | 26.6% |
| The University of Texas at Austin ranks 6th on this list, with median earnings of $115,423 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing and an admission rate of 27%. | |||||
| 7 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College · Baton Rouge, LA | $114,226 | $19,151 | $13,056 | 73.3% |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College reports median earnings of $114,226 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing, and an average net price of $19,151. | |||||
| 8 | University of Notre Dame · Notre Dame, IN | $113,614 | $26,780 | $7,244 | 11.3% |
| University of Notre Dame ranks 8th on this list and its Chemical Engineering graduates earned a median of $113,614 four years after completing, with a median federal debt of $16,750 among Chemical Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 9 | Rice University · Houston, TX | $113,605 | $13,370 | $5,827 | 8.0% |
| Rice University admits 8% of applicants and reports median earnings of $113,605 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 10 | University of California-Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, CA | $113,317 | $16,109 | $9,231 | 33.0% |
| University of California-Santa Barbara ranks 10th on this list, with median earnings of $113,317 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $16,109. | |||||
| 11 | Texas A&M University-College Station · College Station, TX | $111,073 | $21,315 | $12,784 | 57.4% |
| Texas A&M University-College Station reports median earnings of $111,073 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside a median federal debt of $18,017 among Chemical Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 12 | Northwestern University · Evanston, IL | $111,040 | $29,167 | $1,764 | 7.7% |
| Northwestern University ranks 12th on this list and its Chemical Engineering graduates earned a median of $111,040 four years after completing, with an admission rate of 8%. | |||||
| 13 | Carnegie Mellon University · Pittsburgh, PA | $110,378 | $31,944 | $9,097 | 11.7% |
| Carnegie Mellon University reports median earnings of $110,378 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing, from a cohort of 44. | |||||
| 14 | University of Houston · Houston, TX | $110,184 | $14,276 | $10,929 | 73.9% |
| University of Houston admits 74% of applicants and posts median earnings of $110,184 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 15 | University of Pennsylvania · Philadelphia, PA | $109,884 | $28,699 | -$3,012* | 5.4% |
| With an admission rate of 5%, University of Pennsylvania ranks 15th on this list and reports median earnings of $109,884 four years after completing. | |||||
| 16 | University of Florida · Gainesville, FL | $109,607 | $6,541 | $1,982 | 24.2% |
| An average net price of $6,541 coincides with median earnings of $109,607 for Chemical Engineering graduates of University of Florida four years after completing. | |||||
| 17 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus · Seattle, WA | $109,551 | $14,091 | $6,384 | 39.2% |
| Ranking 72nd on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, University of Washington-Seattle Campus reports median earnings of $109,551 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 18 | North Carolina A & T State University · Greensboro, NC | $109,537 | $10,846 | $8,223 | 49.9% |
| North Carolina A & T State University reports median federal debt of $23,272 among Chemical Engineering completers who borrowed, alongside median earnings of $109,537 four years after completing. | |||||
| 19 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor · Ann Arbor, MI | $109,405 | $13,138 | $1,043 | 15.6% |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor posts an average net price of $1,043 for families earning under $30,000, and its Chemical Engineering graduates earn a median of $109,405 four years after completing. | |||||
| 20 | University of California-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA | $108,066 | $12,548 | $5,579 | 9.0% |
| Median earnings of $108,066 four years after completing place University of California-Los Angeles 20th on this list, alongside an admission rate of 9%. | |||||
| 21 | Washington University in St Louis · St. Louis, MO | $107,843 | $21,786 | $1,716 | 12.1% |
| Washington University in St Louis reports median federal debt of $17,500 across all of its borrowers who completed, and its Chemical Engineering graduates earn a median of $107,843 four years after completing. | |||||
| 22 | Northeastern University · Boston, MA | $107,767 | $30,915 | $2,264 | 5.2% |
| Ranking 204th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, Northeastern University reports median earnings of $107,767 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 23 | University of Mississippi · University, MS | $107,548 | $13,314 | $8,945 | 96.6% |
| University of Mississippi admits 97% of applicants and reports median federal debt of $22,288 among Chemical Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 24 | Auburn University · Auburn, AL | $106,726 | $24,323 | $16,681 | 45.9% |
| Auburn University posts an average net price of $24,323 and median earnings of $106,726 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 25 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Blacksburg, VA | $106,011 | $24,953 | $11,689 | 54.8% |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University reports median earnings of $106,011 for its Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing, with 71 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
* Net price can be negative: when grants and scholarships exceed the listed cost of attendance, students can receive the difference as a refund for other expenses.
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Chemical Engineering graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in the United States appear. The figure captures federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled four years after finishing. For 7 of the 153 listed programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one. The metric does not adjust for graduate school enrollment, cost, or who enrolls, and it is not a measure of teaching quality. The range and median below cover the 153 schools with a published figure. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads Vanderbilt University by just $452, and the spread from the top of the list to the bottom is $66,581.
Job market context in the United States
Chemical Engineering graduates in the United States enter occupations such as Engineers, All Other and Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary. The median annual wage across those occupations is $117,352, though a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $87,630. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 3.6% higher, with about 296 openings a year for every hundred graduates, more projected openings than graduates. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. The ranking above uses graduate earnings four years after completing, not the occupation-wide wage figures shown here.
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