Carnegie Mellon University sits near the very top of the return pillar: Azimuth places it in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, the median earnings for the university's graduates reach $132,971, a figure that lands in the 99th percentile nationally.
That median runs above the peer median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $64,721. The strength of the return pillar reflects a program mix dominated by high-earning fields: Engineering accounts for 23.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, Computer & Information Sciences for 18.3%, and Mathematics & Statistics for 14.9%.
An estimated 29.9% of graduates continue to graduate study. That figure is estimated from the program mix.
It means the four-year earnings snapshot captures most graduates at an early-career point rather than during further schooling.
The median earnings for Carnegie Mellon University graduates reach $132,971 four years after completion, measured among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median sits at the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The earnings figure comes from a cohort of 1,515 completers. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show how much earnings vary by field.
The typical earnings scenario lands at $132,971, while the downside scenario is $75,383 and the upside scenario is $251,461. These are estimates across the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.
Based on the program mix, an estimated 29.9% of graduates continue to graduate study. The figure is an estimate, not a measured continuation rate.
Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Carnegie Mellon University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $132,971. That figure is $64,721 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and it places the university at the 99th percentile.
Azimuth ranks Carnegie Mellon University #12 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios, grounded in the university's program mix, show a wide range.
The downside earnings scenario is $75,383 and the upside scenario is $251,461, with the typical scenario matching the observed median. An estimated 29.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.
The earnings strength is concentrated in technical and quantitative fields. The university's largest programs sit in engineering, computer science, and statistics, and the median earnings across these fields run well above the national benchmarks for those disciplines.
The return picture is consistent: earnings sit far above the median for comparable institutions, and the program-level data show that advantage is broad-based across the university's largest fields of study.
Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $75,383 on the downside to $251,461 on the upside, with $132,971 as the typical scenario. The spread between the higher- and lower-earning program clusters is wide.
At the upper end, Computer Science graduates earn a median of $268,121 four years after completion, from 255 degrees awarded a year. Electrical Engineering follows at $250,168, and Computer and Information Sciences at $187,437.
Graduates of Carnegie Mellon University earn a median of $132,971 four years after completion, a figure that places the university in the 99th percentile nationally. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,750, which runs below the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size).
If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $247. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $37,130.
The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $31,944, which is above the peer median of $27,371. Across income bands, the average net price runs from $9,097 for families earning under $30,000, to $6,994 for the $30,001–$48,000 band, $14,468 for $48,001–$75,000, $24,865 for $75,001–$110,000, and $51,480 for families earning over $110,000.
The debt load is modest relative to the earnings graduates command, and the monthly payment is a small fraction of even the downside scenario earnings. The net price for the lowest-income band is low in absolute terms, while the highest band pays a figure that still sits below the sticker price of $83,654 (an average). A low debt burden and earnings that lead the nation point the same way.