Best Civil Engineering Programs in Texas (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in Texas
This page ranks the 16 Civil Engineering programs in Texas by the median earnings of Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing. The University of Texas at Austin leads the list at $95,271, followed by Texas A&M University-College Station at $92,433 and Texas Tech University at $89,969.
The listed programs span from $95,271 down to $71,595, with a median of $84,124.
Public institutions account for 13 of the 16 programs, or 81%. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley posts the lowest average net price on the page at $4,831.
The University of Texas at Arlington ranks 8th 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 | The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX | $95,271 | $19,857 | $12,553 | 26.6% |
| The University of Texas at Austin reports median earnings of $95,271 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing, the highest on this list. | |||||
| 2 | Texas A&M University-College Station · College Station, TX | $92,433 | $21,315 | $12,784 | 57.4% |
| Texas A&M University-College Station admits 57% of applicants and its Civil Engineering graduates earn a median of $92,433 four years after completing. | |||||
| 3 | Texas Tech University · Lubbock, TX | $89,969 | $19,070 | $12,457 | 72.7% |
| With an average net price of $19,070, Texas Tech University posts median earnings of $89,969 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 4 | University of Houston · Houston, TX | $89,653 | $14,276 | $10,929 | 73.9% |
| University of Houston carries an average net price of $14,276 and its Civil Engineering graduates earn a median of $89,653 four years after completing. | |||||
| 5 | Lamar University · Beaumont, TX | $89,250 | $9,366 | $7,568 | 86.4% |
| Lamar University posts median earnings of $89,250 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside a school-wide median federal debt of $21,250 across all borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 6 | The University of Texas at Tyler · Tyler, TX | $88,102 | $13,323 | $10,307 | 94.0% |
| The University of Texas at Tyler reports a median of $88,102 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing, with 54 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 7 | The University of Texas at Arlington · Arlington, TX | $86,844 | $13,951 | $11,893 | 79.9% |
| The University of Texas at Arlington holds an Azimuth composite rank of 8th among nonprofit four-year institutions and its Civil Engineering graduates earn a median of $86,844 four years after completing. | |||||
| 8 | The University of Texas at San Antonio · San Antonio, TX | $84,166 | $10,836 | $7,870 | 86.8% |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio reports median earnings of $84,166 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing, and a median federal debt of $25,370 among Civil Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 9 | Prairie View A & M University · Prairie View, TX | $84,082 | $13,570 | $12,120 | 79.3% |
| Prairie View A & M University shows median earnings of $84,082 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing, with a school-wide median federal debt of $27,000 across all borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 10 | LeTourneau University · Longview, TX | $81,065 | $28,185 | $22,785 | 38.0% |
| LeTourneau University, a private nonprofit university in Longview, reports median earnings of $81,065 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 11 | The University of Texas at El Paso · El Paso, TX | $75,882 | $9,403 | $7,863 | 99.9% |
| The University of Texas at El Paso admits 100% of applicants and its Civil Engineering graduates earn a median of $75,882 four years after completing. | |||||
| 12 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville · Kingsville, TX | $75,033 | $12,090 | $10,207 | 90.9% |
| Texas A&M University-Kingsville reports median earnings of $75,033 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing, with an average net price of $12,090. | |||||
| 13 | Southern Methodist University · Dallas, TX | $73,737 | $40,892 | $23,544 | 63.4% |
| Southern Methodist University, a private nonprofit university in Dallas, admits 63% of applicants and reports an average net price of $40,892. | |||||
| 14 | Rice University · Houston, TX | $71,957 | $13,370 | $5,827 | 8.0% |
| Rice University ranks 14th on this list, with median earnings of $71,957 for its Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 15 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley · Edinburg, TX | $71,848 | $4,831 | $3,785 | 94.2% |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley posts an average net price of $4,831 and a median federal debt of $11,000 among Civil Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 16 | Texas Southern University · Houston, TX | $71,595 | $16,590 | $16,437 | 96.9% |
| Texas Southern University reports median earnings of $71,595 four years after completing and a school-wide median federal debt of $29,000 across all of its borrowers who completed. | |||||
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Civil Engineering graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in Texas appear. The figure captures federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled four years after finishing. For 2 of the 16 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 16 schools with a published figure. The University of Texas at Austin leads Texas A&M University-College Station by $2,838, and the spread from the top of the list to the bottom is $23,676.
Job market context in Texas
Civil Engineering graduates in Texas link to occupations such as Civil Engineers and Engineers, All Other. The median annual wage across those occupations is $100,933, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $80,678. State projections show about 4,600 openings a year, or roughly 414 openings a year for every hundred graduates, with more projected openings than graduates. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 12.9% higher. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. The ranking above uses graduate earnings after completing; the market figures describe the broader occupations, and the two are not the same measure.
Related rankings
- Best Civil Engineering Programs in the United States
- Best Civil Engineering Programs in Florida
- Best Civil Engineering Programs in California
- Best Civil Engineering Programs in Pennsylvania
- Best Civil Engineering Programs in Ohio
- Best Engineering Colleges in Texas
- Best Engineering Colleges for Social Mobility in Texas