CMU Career Outcomes: $133K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do CMU graduates earn?

The reported median is $132,971 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $64,721 per year.

Carnegie Mellon University sits near the very top of the return : 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.

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.

The four-year earnings snapshot omits anyone still in graduate school, since it counts only graduates who are working and not enrolled. The model estimates that 29.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, an estimate derived from program mix.

That share is large enough that the headline median reflects a smaller slice of the class.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $75,383
Median · reported: $132,971
Higher estimate: $251,461

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 CMU 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 CMU. 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 CMU caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at CMU report the highest earnings?

Earnings four years after completion diverge sharply across the largest programs at Carnegie Mellon University. Computer Science reports a median of $268,121 with 255 degrees awarded.

Electrical Engineering reaches $250,168 on 166 degrees awarded. More moderate medians appear in other large fields.

Business Administration and Management shows a median of $160,783 on 138 degrees awarded, and Systems Science and Theory reaches a median below that on 118 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks Computer Science #1 nationally and #1 in Pennsylvania. The program shows a median of $268,121 on 255 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks 12 bachelor's program at Carnegie Mellon University among nonprofit four-year institutions, while earnings data cover 22 fields. Computer Science is the largest, awarding 255 degrees, and its completers earn a median of $268,121 four years after completion.

Electrical Engineering awarded 166 degrees and shows a median of $250,168 four years after completion. Business Administration and Management awarded 138 degrees; completers earn a median of $160,783 four years after completion.

The university's best-ranked program is Computer Science, which Azimuth ranks #1 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions and #1 in Pennsylvania. It awarded 255 degrees, and its completers earn a median of $268,121 four years after completion.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios, grounded in the university's program mix, show how much earnings vary by field. The downside earnings scenario is $75,383, the typical scenario is $132,971, and the upside scenario reaches $251,461.

Among the largest programs, Computer Science sits at the high end at $268,121, while Systems Science and Theory sits at $146,929.

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.

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.