Mechanical Engineering Programs in the United States (2026)
Updated
Part of Best Engineering Colleges in the United States
This page ranks 295 Mechanical Engineering programs in the United States by the median earnings of Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads the list with median earnings of $131,967 four years after completing.
Across the listed schools, the median figure is $91,127, with a range from $131,967 at the top to $52,107 at the bottom.
Public institutions account for 67% of the programs, with 198 public and 97 private nonprofit schools represented. CUNY City College posts the lowest average net price at $3,776, while 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 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Cambridge, MA | $131,967 | $20,111 | -$2,533* | 4.6% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports median earnings of $131,967 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing, with 142 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 2 | Cal Poly Maritime Academy · Vallejo, CA | $126,395 | $20,555 | $13,552 | 95.0% |
| A public university in Vallejo, Cal Poly Maritime Academy admits 95% of applicants and shows an average net price of $20,555. | |||||
| 3 | Santa Clara University · Santa Clara, CA | $122,111 | $50,062 | $22,985 | 48.0% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed left with a median of $19,162 in federal loans at Santa Clara University, which ranks 321st on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions. | |||||
| 4 | Duke University · Durham, NC | $120,991 | $29,612 | $735 | 5.7% |
| Duke University posts median earnings of $120,991 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing and an average net price of $735 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 5 | University of California-Berkeley · Berkeley, CA | $119,371 | $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 and reports median earnings of $119,371 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 6 | Stanford University · Stanford, CA | $117,072 | $13,807 | -$2,536* | 3.6% |
| Stanford University reports median earnings of $117,072 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside a school-wide median federal debt of $12,000 for borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 7 | Princeton University · Princeton, NJ | $115,927 | $6,128 | $41 | 4.6% |
| Princeton University carries an average net price of $6,128 and reports median earnings of $115,927 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 8 | University of Pennsylvania · Philadelphia, PA | $114,492 | $28,699 | -$3,012* | 5.4% |
| Ranking 52nd on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, University of Pennsylvania shows median earnings of $114,492 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 9 | Cornell University · Ithaca, NY | $112,212 | $28,690 | $1,776 | 8.8% |
| Cornell University admits 9% of applicants and reports median earnings of $112,212 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing, with 132 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 10 | Columbia University in the City of New York · New York, NY | $111,491 | $21,590 | $4,570 | 4.0% |
| Columbia University in the City of New York reports median earnings of $111,491 for its graduates four years after completing, with a school-wide median federal debt of $21,500 for borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 11 | Johns Hopkins University · Baltimore, MD | $110,210 | $18,809 | $428 | 6.4% |
| Johns Hopkins University posts an average net price of $428 for families earning under $30,000 and median earnings of $110,210 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 12 | Rice University · Houston, TX | $108,970 | $13,370 | $5,827 | 8.0% |
| Ranking 64th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, Rice University reports median earnings of $108,970 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 13 | University of California-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA | $108,875 | $12,548 | $5,579 | 9.0% |
| University of California-Los Angeles reports median earnings of $108,875 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside an average net price of $12,548. | |||||
| 14 | SUNY Maritime College · Throggs Neck, NY | $106,932 | $22,367 | $11,726 | 72.4% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed at SUNY Maritime College left with a median of $23,250 in federal loans, and the school admits 72% of applicants. | |||||
| 15 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo, CA | $106,750 | $16,665 | $7,529 | 31.3% |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranks 15th on this list, with 272 graduates in the earnings cohort and an admission rate of 31%. | |||||
| 16 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor · Ann Arbor, MI | $105,888 | $13,138 | $1,043 | 15.6% |
| With an average net price of $1,043 for families earning under $30,000, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor posts median earnings of $105,888 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 17 | Carnegie Mellon University · Pittsburgh, PA | $105,623 | $31,944 | $9,097 | 11.7% |
| Carnegie Mellon University, a private nonprofit university in Pittsburgh, reports median earnings of $105,623 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 18 | California Baptist University · Riverside, CA | $105,046 | $26,285 | $22,298 | 84.9% |
| California Baptist University ranks 432nd on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions and reports median earnings of $105,046 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 19 | University of Detroit Mercy · Detroit, MI | $104,683 | $15,232 | $13,088 | 75.4% |
| University of Detroit Mercy reports an average net price of $15,232 and median earnings of $104,683 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 20 | University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA | $104,649 | $32,740 | $13,516 | 9.8% |
| Median earnings of $104,649 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing coincide with an admission rate of 10% at University of Southern California. | |||||
| 21 | The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX | $104,523 | $19,857 | $12,553 | 26.6% |
| The University of Texas at Austin ranks 9th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, with median earnings of $104,523 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 22 | University of California-Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, CA | $104,336 | $16,109 | $9,231 | 33.0% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed at University of California-Santa Barbara left with a median of $13,993 in federal loans, and the school reports an average net price of $16,109. | |||||
| 23 | University of California-San Diego · La Jolla, CA | $104,229 | $12,470 | $7,525 | 26.7% |
| University of California-San Diego reports median earnings of $104,229 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside an average net price of $7,525 for families earning under $30,000. | |||||
| 24 | Northeastern University · Boston, MA | $103,384 | $30,915 | $2,264 | 5.2% |
| An admission rate of 5% and median earnings of $103,384 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing are reported by Northeastern University. | |||||
| 25 | Purdue University-Main Campus · West Lafayette, IN | $102,572 | $14,600 | $5,098 | 49.9% |
| Purdue University-Main Campus reports median earnings of $102,572 for its Mechanical Engineering graduates four years after completing, alongside an average net price of $14,600. | |||||
* 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 Mechanical 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 7 of the 295 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 295 schools with a published figure. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads Cal Poly Maritime Academy by $5,572, and the spread from top to bottom reaches $79,860.
Job market context in the United States
Mechanical Engineering is linked to occupations such as Mechanical Engineers and Cost Estimators. The median annual wage across those occupations is $93,882, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $74,821. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 3.5% higher, with about 140 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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