DePaul Career Outcomes: $73K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do DePaul graduates earn?

The reported median is $73,466 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $83,615 as its benchmark; the difference is -$10,149 per year.

DePaul University's return on investment sits in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, graduates earn a median of $73,466, which is below the peer median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,149.

Graduates earn about $10,436 more than expects for similar students, a result in the 84th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,018.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $418. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $746.

The median earnings figure lands in the 81st percentile nationally. So the return story is one of strong program-driven outcomes that outpace the model, even though the peer comparison runs the other way.

The earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, run from $49,806 on the downside to $96,363 on the upside. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management graduates earn a median of $113,645 four years after completion, from 45 degrees awarded a year. Computer Programming follows at $101,315, with 138 degrees awarded.

The range between the downside scenario and these higher-earning programs is wide.

An estimated 25.1% 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, the median earnings understate the eventual earnings of the sizable share of completers who pursue advanced degrees.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $73,466
Rank for difference from expectations: 84th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

DePaul reported median: $73,466
Peer schools comparable schools · $10,149 above DePaul: $83,615
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $10,436 below DePaul: $63,030

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 DePaul students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2024-25

Completed within six years: 67.8%
Pell recipients completed within six years: 62.8%

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

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $49,806
Median · reported: $73,466
Higher estimate: $96,363

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 DePaul 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.

DePaul graduates’ reported earnings are $10,436 above that expectation, the 84th 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 DePaul caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at DePaul report the highest earnings?

DePaul University's largest programs sit in business, communication, and the arts, and their earnings four years after completion show a wide spread. Finance and Accounting, which together awarded 247 and 172 degrees, reach medians of $93,719 and $93,592, with Azimuth national ranks of #43 and #42 in their fields.

Marketing follows at $78,164 (ranked #45) on 177 degrees awarded. Film/Video and Photographic Arts awarded 176 degrees and shows a median of $46,969.

It ranks #22 nationally and #1 in Illinois, a reminder that a strong field rank can coexist with a moderate earnings figure. The highest-earning program with an Azimuth rank is Computer Programming, at $101,315 with 138 degrees and a national rank of #3.

DePaul University's largest program family, Business, accounts for 32.0% of degrees awarded, and the university has 32 nationally ranked bachelor's programs among 41 fields with earnings data. Computer Programming ranks #3 nationally and #1 in Illinois, with 138 degrees awarded.

Its completers earn a median of $101,315 four years after completion. Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management ranks #6 nationally with 45 degrees awarded and a median of $113,645 four years after completion.

Finance, the largest program by degrees awarded, ranks #43 nationally with 247 degrees awarded and a median of $93,719. Film/Video and Photographic Arts awarded 176 degrees and ranks #22 nationally and #1 in Illinois. Its completers earn a median of $46,969 four years after completion.

Further analysis

Earnings at DePaul University vary widely by field, a spread captured in three earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix. The downside earnings scenario is $49,806, the typical scenario is $73,466, and the upside reaches $96,363.

The highest-earning program, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, shows a median of $113,645 four years after completion, while among the largest programs, Film/Video and Photographic Arts sits at $46,969.

Four years after completing a bachelor's degree at DePaul University, the median earnings among the 5,004 completers in the cohort reach $73,466. That figure sits below the peer median of $83,615, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $10,149.

The university's return strength shows in earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. Graduates earn about $10,436 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the university in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix range from a downside of $49,806 to an upside of $96,363. An estimated 25.1% continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from 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.