Best Statistics Programs in the South (2026)
Updated
Regional list from Best Statistics Programs in the United States
This page ranks 14 Statistics programs in the South by median earnings of Statistics graduates four years after completing, highest first. Duke University leads the list at 1st with median earnings of $152,782 for its graduates four years after completing.
Across the listed programs, the figure ranges from $152,782 to $62,719, with a median of $84,394. The gap between the top two programs is $44,250.
Public institutions account for 10 of the 14 programs, or 71%. University of Florida posts the lowest average net price on the list at $6,541.
University of Central Florida ranks 19th 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 | Duke University · Durham, NC | $152,782 | $29,612 | $735 | 5.7% |
| Duke University reports median earnings of $152,782 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing, the highest on this list, alongside an admission rate of 6%. | |||||
| 2 | University of Virginia-Main Campus · Charlottesville, VA | $108,532 | $21,565 | $8,174 | 16.8% |
| Graduates across all fields who borrowed at University of Virginia-Main Campus left with a median of $17,500 in federal loans, and its Statistics graduates earned a median of $108,532 four years after completing. | |||||
| 3 | George Washington University · Washington, DC | $100,578 | $36,586 | $17,440 | 47.1% |
| George Washington University ranks 3rd on this list with median earnings of $100,578 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing, and carries an average net price of $36,586. | |||||
| 4 | University of Florida · Gainesville, FL | $98,409 | $6,541 | $1,982 | 24.2% |
| With an average net price of $6,541, University of Florida is the lowest on the page, and its Statistics graduates earned a median of $98,409 four years after completing. | |||||
| 5 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Blacksburg, VA | $94,300 | $24,953 | $11,689 | 54.8% |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University admits 55% of applicants and reports median earnings of $94,300 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 6 | Emory University · Atlanta, GA | $93,446 | $22,585 | $7,363 | 10.7% |
| Emory University posted median earnings of $93,446 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing, with a cohort of 151 graduates in the earnings cohort. | |||||
| 7 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh · Raleigh, NC | $85,090 | $17,303 | $6,382 | 41.7% |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh ranks 99th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, and its Statistics graduates earned a median of $85,090 four years after completing. | |||||
| 8 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville · Knoxville, TN | $83,697 | $18,976 | $10,029 | 41.6% |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville reports median earnings of $83,697 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing, and graduates across all fields who borrowed left with a median of $20,500 in federal loans. | |||||
| 9 | University of Georgia · Athens, GA | $83,092 | $13,936 | $8,085 | 37.7% |
| University of Georgia carries an average net price of $13,936 and its Statistics graduates earned a median of $83,092 four years after completing. | |||||
| 10 | Rice University · Houston, TX | $79,450 | $13,370 | $5,827 | 8.0% |
| Rice University admits 8% of applicants and reports median earnings of $79,450 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
| 11 | Florida State University · Tallahassee, FL | $77,605 | $11,297 | $5,938 | 24.2% |
| Florida State University ranks 65th on Azimuth's composite ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, and its Statistics graduates earned a median of $77,605 four years after completing. | |||||
| 12 | University of Central Florida · Orlando, FL | $76,372 | $10,411 | $5,816 | 40.1% |
| University of Central Florida reports median earnings of $76,372 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing, and carries an average net price of $10,411. | |||||
| 13 | University of South Florida · Tampa, FL | $74,071 | $9,812 | $4,122 | 43.2% |
| 13th on this list, University of South Florida reports an average net price of $9,812 and a median federal debt of $17,988 across all of its borrowers who completed. | |||||
| 14 | University of South Alabama · Mobile, AL | $62,719 | $17,648 | $12,657 | 71.0% |
| A public university in Mobile, University of South Alabama reports median earnings of $62,719 for its Statistics graduates four years after completing. | |||||
How this list is ordered
Programs are ordered by the median earnings of their Statistics graduates four years after completing, highest first. Only programs with a reported earnings cohort in the South appear. The figure is the median earnings of federally aided Statistics graduates who were working and not enrolled, measured four years after completing. For 1 of the 14 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. Duke University leads University of Virginia-Main Campus by $44,250, and the spread from Duke University to the bottom of the list is $90,063.
Job market context in the South
The Bureau of Labor Statistics links Statistics to occupations such as Data Scientists and Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary in the South. Across those occupations the median annual wage is $107,167, and a quarter of workers in those occupations earn less than $79,788. Projections for 2024 to 2034 put employment in those occupations about 25.2% higher, with about 12,300 openings a year. That works out to about 1,145 openings a year for every hundred graduates, meaning more projected openings than graduates. Wages and top occupations exclude management occupations; openings include them. These figures describe the occupations the field feeds into, not the earnings of any particular program's graduates, which the ranking above measures four years after completing.