Best Industrial Engineering Programs in the West (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in the West
Regional list from Industrial Engineering Programs in the United States
This page ranks the 9 Industrial Engineering programs in the West by the median earnings of Industrial Engineering graduates four years after completing. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo leads the list with median earnings of $112,797 for its graduates four years after completing, followed closely by University of Southern California at $112,150.
Across the listed programs, the median figure is $101,653, with a spread of $51,777 from $61,020 to $112,797. For 1 of the 9 listed programs the figure is the two-year completion median rather than the four-year one.
Public institutions account for 89% of the list, with 8 public schools and 1 private nonprofit school. California State University-East Bay posts the lowest average net price at $9,320, while California State Polytechnic University-Pomona ranks 15th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.
California State University-East Bay has the highest admission rate, admitting 97% of applicants.
The ranked list
| Rank | School | Program Earnings | Average net price | Net price, families under $30K | Admission rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo, CA | $112,797 | $16,665 | $7,529 | 31.3% |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranks 1st on this list, reporting $112,797 in median earnings for its Industrial Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 2 | University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA | $112,150 | $32,740 | $13,516 | 9.8% |
| A private nonprofit university in Los Angeles, University of Southern California admits 10% of applicants and posts median earnings of $112,150 for its Industrial Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 3 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus · Seattle, WA | $109,575 | $14,091 | $6,384 | 39.2% |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus reports an average net price of $14,091 and median federal debt of $16,743 among Industrial Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion · Tempe, AZ | $102,439 | $14,967 | $9,070 | 89.9% |
| With 77 graduates in the earnings cohort, Arizona State University Campus Immersion shows median earnings of $102,439 four years after completing and an admission rate of 90%. | |||||
| 5 | Oregon State University · Corvallis, OR | $101,653 | $19,604 | $12,107 | 77.3% |
| Oregon State University ranks 126th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions and reports median earnings of $101,653 for its Industrial Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 6 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona · Pomona, CA | $95,835 | $11,531 | $7,851 | 75.2% |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona posts an average net price of $7,851 for families earning under $30,000 and median federal debt of $25,000 among Industrial Engineering completers who borrowed. | |||||
| 7 | California State University-East Bay · Hayward, CA | $93,793 | $9,320 | $6,360 | 97.4% |
| Admitting 97% of applicants, California State University-East Bay reports median federal debt of $16,544 across all of the school's borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 8 | Montana State University · Bozeman, MT | $88,087 | $22,499 | $17,797 | 82.1% |
| Montana State University reports median earnings of $88,087 for its Industrial Engineering graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $17,797 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 9 | San Jose State University · San Jose, CA | $61,020 | $13,760 | $9,730 | 84.6% |
| San Jose State University ranks 23rd on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions and reports an average net price of $13,760. | |||||
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Industrial Engineering graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in the West appear. The figures cover federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled four years after finishing. For 1 of the 9 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 9 schools with a published figure. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo and University of Southern California sit at the top, separated by just $647 in median earnings after completing.
Job market context in the West
The Bureau of Labor Statistics links Industrial Engineering to occupations such as Industrial Engineers. Across those occupations in the West, the median annual wage is $119,341, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $95,886. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 9.0% higher, with 12,280 projected openings a year, or about 2,348 openings a year for every hundred graduates, meaning more projected openings than graduates. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. The ranking above uses graduate earnings data, not the occupational wage figures described here.