Carleton College Outcomes: $67K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Carleton College graduates earn?

The reported median is $66,841 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is -$1,409 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Carleton College who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $66,841. That places the university in the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The figure is $1,409 below the median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the return at the 67th percentile.

The university does not carry an earnings-beyond-expectations measure, which would show the gap between what graduates earn and what a model expects for similar students. The return pillar rests on observed earnings and their national standing.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $48,975 on the downside to $96,465 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $66,841. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

The highest-earning program with published data is Economics, where graduates earn a median of $87,193 four years after completion. That is 1.05x the national median for the field.

An estimated 42.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, those continuing their education are outside that earnings snapshot.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $48,975
Median · reported: $66,841
Higher estimate: $96,465

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do Carleton College graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

That comparison is not reported for Carleton College. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending Carleton College caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Carleton College report the highest earnings?

Only one program at Carleton College has published four-year earnings. Economics is both the largest program with published earnings and the highest-earning one, with 34 degrees awarded and median earnings of $87,193 four years after completion.

That figure sits at 1.05x the national median for the field. The three largest degree families are Social Sciences at 19.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, Physical Sciences at 14.5%, and Biological Sciences at 10.8%.

A student weighing earnings should know that the available data covers one field.

Social Sciences accounts for 19.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, ahead of Physical Sciences at 14.5% and Biological Sciences at 10.8%. The largest program with published earnings is Economics, at 34 degrees a year.

Graduates of Economics earn a median of $87,193 four years after completion. That is the only program at Carleton College with published four-year earnings data, so the program-level picture is thin.

An estimated 42.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. The earnings figure above captures those who enter the workforce directly, not the full career arc of a student who goes on to a professional degree.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a downside of $48,975, a typical outcome of $66,841, and an upside of $96,465. The spread between the downside and upside scenarios shows that field of study can shift earnings substantially.

The highest-earning program with data, Economics, reports median earnings of $87,193 four years after completion. That figure anchors the upper end of the range.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $66,841. Azimuth places that figure in the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 222 completers.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from a downside of $48,975 to an upside of $96,465, with a typical scenario of $66,841. An estimated 42.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.