College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Clemson University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do Clemson University graduates earn?

The reported median is $75,142 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $9,532 per year.

The return picture at Clemson University is mixed. Graduates earn a median of $75,142 four years after completion, at the 84th percentile nationally.

That is $9,532 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $8,474 less than expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 23rd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,948.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $21,422. Azimuth places the university at the 71st percentile for return.

Earnings vary widely by field at Clemson University, making the modeled program-mix scenarios more useful than a single campuswide figure. The downside earnings scenario is $52,284, and the upside scenario is $94,446.

At the upper end, program medians four years after completion are $105,646 in Information Science/Studies, $102,762 in Computer Engineering, and $101,301 in Computer and Information Sciences. These program figures show why the modeled range is wide.

An estimated 30.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so this estimate matters when reading that median: some graduates are outside the earnings snapshot while in graduate study.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$75,142
Rank for difference from expectations
24th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
Clemson University reported median
$75,142
Peer schools comparable schools · $9,532 below Clemson University
$65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $8,474 above Clemson University
$83,616

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.

How many Clemson University students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2024-25
Completed within six years
86.6%
Pell recipients completed within six years
79.7%

Source: Clemson University Common Data Set 2024-25, B4–B11 six-year completion.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $52,284 to $94,446, around the reported median of $75,142. Compare the lower scenario with Clemson University borrowing and monthly payments 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
$52,284
Median · reported
$75,142
Higher estimate
$94,446

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 Clemson University 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.

Clemson University graduates’ reported earnings are $8,474 below that expectation, the 24th 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 Clemson University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$12,948
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$21,422
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$8,474

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

Which fields at Clemson University report the highest earnings?

The largest programs at Clemson University span a wide earnings range four years after completion. Mechanical Engineering leads among the big fields at $91,028, with 242 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #103 nationally within its field. Business Administration and Management is the biggest by volume, awarding 422 degrees a year, and its graduates earn $70,059.

Psychology sits at the more moderate end, with 328 degrees awarded and median earnings of $55,126. The highest-earning program overall is a smaller one: Information Science/Studies reports $105,646 from 28 degrees a year.

Computer and Information Sciences is larger, at 177 degrees awarded, and its graduates earn $101,301. Azimuth ranks it #62 nationally and #1 in South Carolina.

Clemson University has 44 nationally ranked programs, giving applicants several fields to compare beyond the university-wide figures. Azimuth ranks Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics #1 nationally in its field; it awarded 29 degrees and had median earnings of $69,274 four years after completion.

Microbiological Sciences and Immunology ranks #3 nationally in its field, with 55 degrees awarded and $81,526 in median earnings. Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies is ranked #5 nationally in its field, awarded 71 degrees, and shows $67,102 in median earnings.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences ranks #6 nationally in its field, with 94 degrees awarded and median earnings of $72,010 four years after completion.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Information Science/Studies
$105,646
Computer Engineering
$102,762
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$101,301
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$96,446
Engineering-Related Fields
$94,449
Biomedical/Medical Engineering
$93,705
Industrial Engineering
$92,491
Chemical Engineering
$92,098

Explore Clemson University program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Scenarios grounded in the program mix span $52,284 in the downside case, $75,142 in the typical case, and $94,446 in the upside case. Information Science/Studies is the highest-earning program at $105,646 four years after completion; among the largest programs, Psychology is lowest at $55,126. The spread shows variation by field.

Among federally aided Clemson University completers who are working and not enrolled, the median four years after finishing is $75,142. That is $9,532 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places that figure in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, from a cohort of 4,521 completers. Graduates earn about $8,474 less than the model expects for similar students.

That gap sits at the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $52,284 on the downside to $94,446 on the upside, with typical earnings at $75,142.

An estimated 30.5% 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.