Electrical and Electronics Engineering Programs by Earnings
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in the United States
This page ranks the 247 Electrical and Electronics Engineering programs in the United States by the median earnings of Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing. Carnegie Mellon University leads the list at $250,168, followed by University of California-Berkeley at $200,543 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at $161,118.
The median across all listed programs is $98,264, with a spread of $198,061 from the top figure to the lowest reported earnings of $52,107.
Public institutions make up 75% of the list, with 186 schools compared to 61 private nonprofits. CUNY City College reports the lowest average net price at $3,776.
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 | Carnegie Mellon University · Pittsburgh, PA | $250,168 | $31,944 | $9,097 | 11.7% |
| Carnegie Mellon University reports $250,168 in median earnings for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing, from a cohort of 166. | |||||
| 2 | University of California-Berkeley · Berkeley, CA | $200,543 | $13,481 | $5,311 | 11.0% |
| With an admission rate of 11%, University of California-Berkeley ranks 4th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge, MA | $161,118 | $20,111 | -$2,533* | 4.6% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology posts a median federal debt of $10,967 among Electrical and Electronics Engineering completers who borrowed, alongside earnings of $161,118 four years after completing. | |||||
| 4 | Cornell University · Ithaca, NY | $147,241 | $28,690 | $1,776 | 8.8% |
| Cornell University shows an average net price of $1,776 for families earning under $30,000, while its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates earn a median of $147,241 four years after completing. | |||||
| 5 | The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX | $146,003 | $19,857 | $12,553 | 26.6% |
| The University of Texas at Austin ranks 5th on this list, with median earnings of $146,003 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 6 | Columbia University in the City of New York · New York, NY | $143,332 | $21,590 | $4,570 | 4.0% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed left Columbia University in the City of New York with a median of $21,500 in federal loans, and the school admits 4% of applicants. | |||||
| 7 | The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art · New York, NY | $139,068 | $13,269 | $3,749 | 20.7% |
| The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art reports median earnings of $139,068 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing, and an average net price of $13,269. | |||||
| 8 | Rice University · Houston, TX | $136,656 | $13,370 | $5,827 | 8.0% |
| Rice University admits 8% of applicants and its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates earn a median of $136,656 four years after completing. | |||||
| 9 | University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA | $131,532 | $32,740 | $13,516 | 9.8% |
| University of Southern California ranks 9th on this list, with a median federal debt of $18,497 among Electrical and Electronics Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 10 | University of California-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA | $126,209 | $12,548 | $5,579 | 9.0% |
| A cohort of 142 Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates at University of California-Los Angeles earned a median of $126,209 four years after completing. | |||||
| 11 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo, CA | $125,240 | $16,665 | $7,529 | 31.3% |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo shows an average net price of $7,529 for families earning under $30,000, and its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates earn a median of $125,240 four years after completing. | |||||
| 12 | University of California-Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz, CA | $118,290 | $17,890 | $8,717 | 65.8% |
| With an admission rate of 66%, University of California-Santa Cruz reports median earnings of $118,290 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 13 | University of California-San Diego · La Jolla, CA | $118,150 | $12,470 | $7,525 | 26.7% |
| University of California-San Diego ranks 13th on this list and 1st on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, with median earnings of $118,150 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 14 | Northeastern University · Boston, MA | $118,150 | $30,915 | $2,264 | 5.2% |
| A private nonprofit university in Boston, Northeastern University reports median earnings of $118,150 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing and an admission rate of 5%. | |||||
| 15 | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology · Socorro, NM | $117,813 | $9,873 | $5,136 | 44.5% |
| New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology posts median earnings of $117,813 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside an average net price of $9,873. | |||||
| 16 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor · Ann Arbor, MI | $117,610 | $13,138 | $1,043 | 15.6% |
| Admitting 16% of applicants, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor reports median earnings of $117,610 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 17 | Villanova University · Villanova, PA | $117,229 | $43,756 | $17,823 | 27.0% |
| Villanova University ranks 17th on this list, with median federal debt of $27,000 among Electrical and Electronics Engineering completers who borrowed and an average net price of $43,756. | |||||
| 18 | University of California-Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, CA | $117,215 | $16,109 | $9,231 | 33.0% |
| University of California-Santa Barbara reports median earnings of $117,215 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing, with a cohort of 68 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 19 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus · Seattle, WA | $116,010 | $14,091 | $6,384 | 39.2% |
| Median earnings of $116,010 four years after completing place University of Washington-Seattle Campus 19th on this list, and the school ranks 72nd on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 20 | Prairie View A & M University · Prairie View, TX | $115,939 | $13,570 | $12,120 | 79.3% |
| Prairie View A & M University admits 79% of applicants and reports median earnings of $115,939 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 21 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs · Colorado Springs, CO | $113,627 | $15,788 | $12,065 | 97.4% |
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs posts median earnings of $113,627 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing, with median federal debt of $24,500 among Electrical and Electronics Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 22 | University of Notre Dame · Notre Dame, IN | $112,828 | $26,780 | $7,244 | 11.3% |
| An average net price of $7,244 for families earning under $30,000 coincides with median earnings of $112,828 for Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing at University of Notre Dame. | |||||
| 23 | Sonoma State University · Rohnert Park, CA | $112,757 | $12,885 | $8,310 | 93.4% |
| Sonoma State University reports median earnings of $112,757 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing, with median federal debt of $16,705 across all of the school's borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 24 | San Francisco State University · San Francisco, CA | $112,454 | $12,278 | $9,341 | 96.4% |
| San Francisco State University ranks 24th on this list and 51st on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, with median earnings of $112,454 for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 25 | Stevens Institute of Technology · Hoboken, NJ | $112,047 | $41,346 | $27,221 | 47.6% |
| Stevens Institute of Technology reports $112,047 in median earnings for its Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside a median federal debt of $26,000 among Electrical and Electronics Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
* 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 Laser and Optical 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 23 of the 247 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 247 schools with a published figure. The gap between first-ranked Carnegie Mellon University and second-ranked University of California-Berkeley is $49,625, and the spread from the top of the list to the bottom reaches $198,061.
Job market context in the United States
Graduates of Electrical and Electronics Engineering programs in the United States enter occupations such as Electrical Engineers, Engineers, All Other, and related technical roles. The median annual wage across those occupations is $117,814, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $90,520. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 4.5% higher, with about 35,500 projected openings a year. That works out to about 216 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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