Discover 276 Engineering colleges that excel at moving low-income students to success. Schools must be in the 60th percentile+ for mobility, ranked by graduate earnings. Average earnings: $67,238.
Most rankings ignore accessibility. We flipped the model: first, filter for schools that actually enroll and graduate low-income students (60th percentile+ mobility). Then rank by earnings. These 271 Engineering programs made the cut.
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology leads the rankings, producing Engineering graduates earning $143,372 while maintaining a 73rd percentile mobility score. At the top end, graduates earn up to $143,372—demonstrating that schools serving low-income students can compete on outcomes, not just access.
Stevens Institute Of Technology serves 21% Pell Grant recipients—students from families earning under $60,000—while still producing graduates earning $108,772. The affordability story is equally compelling: top programs like MIT leave graduates with just 2.3% payment burden, landing in the 'Excellent' category for debt management.
Earnings: $143,372 | Mobility: 73rd percentile
20.5% Pell students with $108,772 earnings
2.0% payment burden | Excellent
7.0% family burden | Excellent
| Rank | School | Graduate Earnings | Student Debt | Student GPS | Parent Debt | Parent GPS | Mobility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | $143,372 | $14,768 | Excellent | $42,501 | Good | 71th percentile mobility | |
| #2 | Harvey Mudd CollegePrivate | $138,687 | $25,000 | Excellent | $33,386 | Good | 62th percentile mobility |
| #3 | $129,455 | $19,500 | Excellent | $0 | Excellent | 62th percentile mobility | |
| #4 | $128,566 | — | — | — | — | 62th percentile mobility | |
| #5 | Stanford UniversityPrivate | $124,080 | $12,000 | Excellent | $38,333 | Good | 90th percentile mobility |
| #6 | Carnegie Mellon UniversityPrivate | $114,862 | $21,750 | Excellent | $37,130 | Good | 83th percentile mobility |
| #7 | University Of PennsylvaniaPrivate | $111,371 | $15,715 | Excellent | $33,124 | Good | 88th percentile mobility |
| #8 | Princeton UniversityPrivate | $110,066 | $10,320 | Excellent | $41,000 | Good | 75th percentile mobility |
| #9 | Santa Clara UniversityPrivate | $109,183 | $19,162 | Excellent | $56,271 | Good | 74th percentile mobility |
| #10 | $108,772 | $27,000 | Excellent | $53,192 | Manageable | 72th percentile mobility | |
| #11 | Lehigh UniversityPrivate | $105,584 | $21,960 | Excellent | $42,245 | Manageable | 79th percentile mobility |
| #12 | Cornell UniversityPrivate | $104,043 | $14,000 | Excellent | $38,000 | Good | 93th percentile mobility |
| #13 | $103,470 | $27,000 | Excellent | $53,567 | Manageable | 61th percentile mobility | |
| #14 | $102,772 | $21,672 | Excellent | $32,216 | Good | 92th percentile mobility | |
| #15 | $102,491 | $21,500 | Excellent | $35,000 | Excellent | 91th percentile mobility | |
| #16 | $102,051 | $23,750 | Excellent | $52,241 | Manageable | 77th percentile mobility | |
| #17 | Harvard UniversityPrivate | $101,817 | — | — | — | — | 90th percentile mobility |
| #18 | Yale UniversityPrivate | $100,533 | — | — | — | — | 81th percentile mobility |
| #19 | Villanova UniversityPrivate | $100,423 | $25,874 | Excellent | $40,000 | Manageable | 72th percentile mobility |
| #20 | University Of Notre DamePrivate | $99,980 | $19,000 | Excellent | $40,731 | Good | 87th percentile mobility |
| #21 | Duke UniversityPrivate | $97,800 | $13,000 | Excellent | $27,998 | Excellent | 84th percentile mobility |
| #22 | Dartmouth CollegePrivate | $97,434 | $17,500 | Excellent | $44,481 | Good | 77th percentile mobility |
| #23 | Colorado School Of MinesPublic | $97,335 | $23,000 | Excellent | $53,505 | Manageable | 86th percentile mobility |
| #24 | Suny Maritime CollegePublic | $95,951 | $23,250 | Excellent | $38,700 | Good | 75th percentile mobility |
| #25 | Bucknell UniversityPrivate | $93,807 | $27,000 | Excellent | $62,750 | Manageable | 72th percentile mobility |
Our social mobility rankings answer: "Which schools deliver the best outcomes for students from low-income backgrounds?"
This is not simply "which schools admit the most low-income students" — it's which schools both serve low-income students and deliver strong earnings outcomes.
Data based on May 2026 refresh for 2026 rankings, based on Department of Education reporting standards. Learn about our methodology →
