Best Engineering Technology Colleges for Social Mobility in the West
Updated
Regional list from Best Engineering Technology Colleges for Social Mobility
Best Engineering Technology Colleges for Social Mobility in the West ranks 19 schools in the West by median earnings of all students ten years after entry. Schools first had to sit at or above the 60th percentile on Azimuth's mobility pillar; those that qualified are ordered by the school's median earnings of all students ten years after entry, highest first, as set out on Azimuth's methodology page.
Stanford University ranks 1st on this list, with median earnings of $124,080 ten years after entry. Across the listed schools, the figure ranges from $124,080 to $39,067, with a median of $61,580.
Public institutions account for 17 of the 19 schools, or 89% of the list. California State University-Los Angeles posts the lowest average net price at $3,967.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Median earnings, 10 years after entry | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Pell share | Mobility percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford University · Stanford, CA | $124,080 | $13,807 | -$2,536* | 19.2% | 90th |
| Stanford University reports median earnings of $124,080 for all students ten years after entry, and ranks 1st on this list. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Engineering-Related Fields (77 graduates) | ||||||
| 2 | University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA | $92,498 | $32,740 | $13,516 | 22.2% | 95th |
| With an average net price of $32,740, University of Southern California sits at the 95th percentile on Azimuth's mobility index among nonprofit four-year institutions. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Engineering-Related Fields (24 graduates) | ||||||
| 3 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo, CA | $90,768 | $16,665 | $7,529 | 19.2% | 94th |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, a public university in San Luis Obispo, posts median earnings of $90,768 ten years after entry and an average net price of $7,529 for families earning under $30,000. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (52 graduates) | ||||||
| 4 | San Jose State University · San Jose, CA | $78,988 | $13,760 | $9,730 | 35.2% | 98th |
| San Jose State University ranks 4th on this page, with a Pell share of 35% and median earnings of $78,988 for all students ten years after entry. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (58 graduates), Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General (57 graduates), Engineering-Related Fields (13 graduates) | ||||||
| 5 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona · Pomona, CA | $71,902 | $11,531 | $7,851 | 46.3% | 99th |
| At the 99th percentile on Azimuth's mobility index among nonprofit four-year institutions, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona reports median earnings of $71,902 ten years after entry. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (57 graduates), Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (55 graduates), Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians (16 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician ($105,812), Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians ($91,709) | ||||||
| 6 | San Diego State University · San Diego, CA | $64,909 | $15,364 | $9,910 | 31.7% | 98th |
| San Diego State University posts an average net price of $9,910 for families earning under $30,000, alongside median earnings of $64,909 for all students ten years after entry. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (39 graduates) | ||||||
| 7 | California State University-Long Beach · Long Beach, CA | $64,403 | $10,440 | $7,183 | 50.2% | 100th |
| California State University-Long Beach reports a Pell share of 50% and sits at the 100th percentile on Azimuth's mobility index among nonprofit four-year institutions. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (53 graduates), Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians (6 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician ($103,125) | ||||||
| 8 | California State University-Chico · Chico, CA | $64,172 | $14,480 | $9,902 | 42.5% | 95th |
| Median earnings of $64,172 ten years after entry coincide with an average net price of $14,480 at California State University-Chico, which ranks 8th on this list. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (95 graduates), Engineering-Related Fields (30 graduates) | ||||||
| 9 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion · Tempe, AZ | $62,668 | $14,967 | $9,070 | 29.0% | 100th |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion reports median earnings of $62,668 for all students ten years after entry, and an average net price of $9,070 for families earning under $30,000. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (94 graduates), Engineering-Related Fields (33 graduates) | ||||||
| 10 | Central Washington University · Ellensburg, WA | $61,580 | $18,476 | $11,846 | 28.3% | 87th |
| Central Washington University posts median earnings of $61,580 ten years after entry, and sits at the 87th percentile on Azimuth's mobility index among nonprofit four-year institutions. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (28 graduates), Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (19 graduates), Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (9 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians ($97,869), Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians ($84,871) | ||||||
| 11 | California State University-Fresno · Fresno, CA | $61,244 | $7,000 | $5,105 | 57.0% | 98th |
| California State University-Fresno reports a Pell share of 57% and an average net price of $7,000, alongside median earnings of $61,244 ten years after entry. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (36 graduates), Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (35 graduates), Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians (7 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician ($95,072) | ||||||
| 12 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins · Fort Collins, CO | $60,543 | $21,279 | $13,259 | 21.1% | 93rd |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins ranks 12th on this page, with an average net price of $13,259 for families earning under $30,000 and median earnings of $60,543 for all students ten years after entry. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (181 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician ($94,921) | ||||||
| 13 | University of Arizona · Tucson, AZ | $59,979 | $16,674 | $13,353 | 25.7% | 97th |
| University of Arizona reports median earnings of $59,979 for all students ten years after entry, and a 97th percentile on Azimuth's mobility index among nonprofit four-year institutions. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Engineering-Related Fields (14 graduates), Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians (5 graduates) | ||||||
| 14 | California State University-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA | $59,211 | $3,967 | $2,877 | 66.3% | 100th |
| With an average net price of $3,967, California State University-Los Angeles ranks 14th on this list and sits at the 100th percentile on Azimuth's mobility index among nonprofit four-year institutions. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (35 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians ($86,970) | ||||||
| 15 | California State University-Northridge · Northridge, CA | $59,115 | $7,021 | $4,905 | 56.1% | 100th |
| California State University-Northridge posts median earnings of $59,115 for all students ten years after entry, alongside a 56% share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (26 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician ($89,804) | ||||||
| 16 | Eastern Washington University · Cheney, WA | $57,897 | $13,886 | $9,547 | 35.1% | 86th |
| A public university in Cheney, Eastern Washington University ranks 16th on this list and reports an average net price of $13,886. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General (46 graduates), Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (17 graduates) | ||||||
| 17 | Montana State University · Bozeman, MT | $53,263 | $22,499 | $17,797 | 16.4% | 69th |
| Montana State University shows median earnings of $53,263 for all students ten years after entry, and an average net price of $17,797 for families earning under $30,000. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (54 graduates), Construction Engineering Technology/Technician (32 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician ($89,002), Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians ($80,089) | ||||||
| 18 | Metropolitan State University of Denver · Denver, CO | $52,093 | $15,327 | $12,481 | 35.5% | 90th |
| At the 90th percentile on Azimuth's mobility index among nonprofit four-year institutions, Metropolitan State University of Denver reports median earnings of $52,093 for all students ten years after entry. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (55 graduates), Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians (27 graduates), Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians (20 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians ($100,358), Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians ($98,267), Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians ($86,131) | ||||||
| 19 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM | $39,067 | $8,889 | $6,648 | 38.5% | 75th |
| New Mexico State University-Main Campus ranks 19th on this list, with median earnings of $39,067 for all students ten years after entry and a 38% share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants. | ||||||
Largest programs by graduates in the earnings cohort: Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General (47 graduates), Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians (6 graduates) Highest four-year median earnings by program: Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General ($81,690) | ||||||
* 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
Schools first had to sit at or above the 60th percentile on Azimuth's mobility pillar; those that qualified are ordered by the school's median earnings of all students ten years after entry, highest first, as set out on Azimuth's methodology page. The ordering metric is the median earnings of all federally aided students at each institution, measured ten years after entry, among those working and not enrolled. The list does not measure earnings in any one major or teaching quality. The figures cited on this page cover the 19 schools with a reported ten-year median. Stanford University leads at $124,080, and the gap to second-ranked University of Southern California is $31,582.
Job market context in the West
The Bureau of Labor Statistics links Engineering Technology to occupations such as Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers, Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers, and Industrial Engineers in the West. The median annual wage across those occupations is $97,356, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $77,542. Projections for 2024 to 2034 show about 5,533 openings a year for every hundred graduates, with more projected openings than graduates. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 11.7% higher. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. These market figures describe the occupations, not the graduate earnings the ranking above uses.
Related rankings
- Best Engineering Technology Colleges for Social Mobility
- Best Colleges in the West
- Best Engineering Technology Colleges for Social Mobility in the Midwest
- Engineering Technology Colleges in the Northeast for Social Mobility
- Best Engineering Technology Colleges for Social Mobility in the South
- Engineering Technology Colleges in the West