Columbia Career Outcomes: $116K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Columbia graduates earn?

The reported median is $115,519 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $47,269 per year.

Azimuth places the return for Columbia University in the City of New York at the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $115,519, in the 99th percentile.

That figure is $47,269 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $12,564 more than expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,670. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,894. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $5,351.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $54,662 on the downside to $172,308 on the upside, with the typical scenario at $115,519. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $194,365 four years after completion, from 22 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science, the largest program, has median earnings of $188,265 from 357 degrees. Operations Research follows at $167,572.

An estimated 37.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, this estimate indicates that a sizable portion of completers may be building additional human capital outside the earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $115,519
Rank for difference from expectations: 88th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Columbia reported median: $115,519
Peer schools comparable schools · $47,269 below Columbia: $68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $12,564 below Columbia: $102,955

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: $54,662
Median · reported: $115,519
Higher estimate: $172,308

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 Columbia 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.

Columbia graduates’ reported earnings are $12,564 above that expectation, the 88th 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 Columbia caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Columbia report the highest earnings?

Columbia University in the City of New York publishes four-year earnings for 23 bachelor's fields, and Azimuth ranks 16 of them nationally. Computer Science is the largest program by degrees awarded, with 357 degrees and a median of $188,265 four years after completion, placing it #14 in its field.

Economics follows at 327 degrees awarded and a median of $137,710, ranking #12 nationally. The highest median among all programs belongs to Computer Engineering, at $194,365, though it awarded only 22 degrees.

Among the larger fields, Political Science reports a median of $100,245 and an Azimuth national rank of #4 on 225 degrees awarded, while Research and Experimental Psychology reaches $86,946 with 163 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks 16 of Columbia University in the City of New York's bachelor's programs nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions, with earnings data published for 23 fields. Political Science is the university's best nationally ranked program at #4 (#1 in New York), awarding 225 degrees and posting a median of $100,245 four years after completion.

Computer Science is the largest program, with 357 degrees awarded, a national rank of #14, and median earnings of $188,265. Economics ranks #12 nationally and #1 in New York, awarding 327 degrees and earning a median of $137,710.

History rounds out the ranked programs at #5 nationally (#1 in New York), with 111 degrees awarded and median earnings of $98,079.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $54,662, a typical outcome of $115,519, and an upside of $172,308. At the high end, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $194,365 four years after completion.

Among the largest programs, Research and Experimental Psychology sits at the lower end with $86,946.

Graduates of Columbia University in the City of New York earn about $12,564 more than the model expects for similar students. The median earnings four years after completion reach $115,519, drawn from a cohort of 2,609 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

That median sits in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, point to a typical outcome of $115,519.

The downside earnings scenario is $54,662, while the upside scenario reaches $172,308. An estimate derived from the program mix suggests that 37.6% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study.

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.