Colorado School of Mines Outcomes: $100K Earnings (2026)

How much do Colorado School of Mines graduates earn?

The reported median is $100,252 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $42,951 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $100,252. That places the institution at the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure is $42,951 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places the return in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $15,633 more than expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 92nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,656.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $23. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $14,834.

Earnings scenarios range from $90,466 on the downside to $123,662 on the upside, with $100,252 as the typical scenario. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer Science graduates earn $127,217 four years after completion, and Petroleum Engineering graduates earn $116,691. Mining and Mineral Engineering, a smaller program, reports $109,695.

An estimated 23.6% 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.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $100,252
Rank for difference from expectations: 92nd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Colorado School of Mines reported median: $100,252
Peer schools comparable schools · $42,951 below Colorado School of Mines: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $15,633 below Colorado School of Mines: $84,619

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 could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $90,466
Median · reported: $100,252
Higher estimate: $123,662

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 Colorado School of Mines 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.

Colorado School of Mines graduates’ reported earnings are $15,633 above that expectation, the 92nd 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 Colorado School of Mines caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Colorado School of Mines report the highest earnings?

Colorado School of Mines is an engineering school, and the program-level earnings show that. The median four-year earnings for graduates in most fields exceed the national benchmark for that field.

Computer Science leads in earnings at $127,217, with 202 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #51 nationally within its field.

Petroleum Engineering follows at $116,691 from 86 degrees awarded, and holds a national rank of #6. The largest program, Mechanical Engineering, awards 304 degrees a year and posts median earnings of $97,087.

Azimuth ranks it #35 nationally. Chemical Engineering is a more moderate-earning option at $94,598 from 155 degrees awarded, with a national rank of #58.

Engineering accounts for 78.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, and Computer & Information Sciences makes up another 17.0%. The university has 9 nationally ranked programs.

Mechanical Engineering is the largest, with 304 degrees awarded and a median of $97,087 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #35 in its field.

Computer Science follows at 202 degrees and $127,217, ranked #51. Engineering Physics holds the best national rank, #2, with 40 degrees and median earnings of $97,497.

Petroleum Engineering ranks #6 nationally, awarding 86 degrees and showing median earnings of $116,691.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $90,466 to a typical outcome of $100,252 and an upside of $123,662. The spread reflects the variation by field: Computer Science reaches $127,217 at the high end, while Chemical Engineering, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, stands at $94,598.

Four years after finishing a degree, federally aided completers at Colorado School of Mines who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $100,252. That measurement draws on an earnings cohort of 1,175 graduates.

That median falls in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $15,633 more than the model expects for similar students.

That result falls in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical outcome of $100,252, a downside scenario of $90,466, and an upside scenario of $123,662.

An estimated 23.6% 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.