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Career outcomes brief

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# Case Western Reserve University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/case-western-reserve-university/)[Cost & aid](/school/case-western-reserve-university/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/case-western-reserve-university/admissions/)[Majors](/school/case-western-reserve-university/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/case-western-reserve-university/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do Case Western graduates earn?

The reported median is $94,237 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $25,987 per year.

For students weighing return, Case Western Reserve University pairs a high earnings measure with a strong Azimuth return standing. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $94,237 four years after completion, in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,900 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 81st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,580.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,680. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university's median is $25,987 above it. Above-peer earnings and higher-than-expected earnings point the same way.

At Case Western Reserve University, earnings can differ sharply across fields, so the earnings scenarios provide a range rather than a single outcome. The downside earnings scenario is $52,564, and the upside scenario is $117,704 four years after completion.

Program medians put that spread in concrete terms: Computer Science completers earn $143,580, Economics completers earn $114,601, and Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering completers earn $106,134, all four years after completion. The modeled range and these field results point to materially different earnings outcomes by academic option.

Graduate study is part of how to read the four-year earnings snapshot. An estimated 34.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four-year earnings therefore describe completers who are working and not enrolled in further study.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$94,237

**Rank for difference from expectations**
81st percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Case Western reported median**
$94,237

**Peer schools comparable schools · $25,987 below Case Western**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $8,900 below Case Western**
$85,337

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. [How the model works](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How many Case Western first-year students return?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26

**Returned the following fall**
93.3%

Source: Case Western Reserve University Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention.

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $52,564 to $117,704, around the reported median of $94,237. Compare the lower scenario with [Case Western borrowing and monthly payments](/school/case-western-reserve-university/cost/) to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

**Lower estimate**
$52,564

**Median · reported**
$94,237

**Higher estimate**
$117,704

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](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do Case Western 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](/methodology/#value-added).

Case Western graduates’ reported earnings are $8,900 above that expectation, the 81st percentile for this measure. 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 Case Western caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$10,580

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$1,680

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$8,900

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

## Which fields at Case Western report the highest earnings?

Program choice matters sharply at Case Western Reserve University, where Computer Science has median earnings of $143,580 four years after completion. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) the field #34 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions, and it awarded 141 degrees.

Mechanical Engineering is another higher-earning large field, at $94,197; Azimuth ranks it #91 nationally, with 108 degrees awarded. The moderate-earning large fields tell a different part of the picture.

Psychology records $55,540 four years after completion, ranks #110 nationally in Azimuth, and awarded 101 degrees. Biology reports $53,604, with an Azimuth national rank of #255 and 116 degrees awarded.

The contrast between these fields shows why the schoolwide earnings figure does not describe every major equally.

Program choice carries wide earnings differences at Case Western Reserve University, which has 14 bachelor’s programs ranked by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering ranks #13 nationally in its field, awarded 46 degrees, and shows median earnings of $106,134 four years after completion.

Computer Science ranks #34 nationally in its field, with 141 degrees awarded and median earnings of $143,580 four years after completion. Economics ranks #39 nationally in its field, awarded 67 degrees, and reports median earnings of $114,601 four years after completion.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer Science**
$143,580

**Economics**
$114,601

**Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering**
$106,134

**Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering**
$99,557

**Chemical Engineering**
$96,533

**Mechanical Engineering**
$94,197

**Biomedical/Medical Engineering**
$94,168

**Accounting and Related Services**
$89,760

[Explore Case Western program cohorts and field ranks](/school/case-western-reserve-university/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a wide range by field. The downside earnings scenario is $52,564, the typical scenario is $94,237, and the upside scenario is $117,704.

At the high end among the largest programs, Computer Science has median earnings of $143,580 four years after completion; Biology is the lower-earning large program at $53,604.

At Case Western Reserve University, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $94,237 four years after completion, a strong post-completion earnings result. Azimuth places that median in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 1,173 completers.

Graduates earn about $8,900 more than the model expects for similar students. This is [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

A typical modeled scenario based on the program mix matches that middle earnings figure. An estimated 34.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The high median and the modeled earnings result point in the same direction, while the graduate-study estimate describes another possible path after completion.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).