Lafayette College Outcomes: $92K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Lafayette College graduates earn?

The reported median is $91,758 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $23,508 per year.

Azimuth places the return for Lafayette College in the 94th 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 $91,758.

That is $23,508 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That places the university's median earnings in the 95th percentile nationally.

The earnings scenarios show a wide range: from $54,951 on the downside to $112,210 on the upside. Program choice matters a great deal within that spread.

At the upper end, Chemical Engineering graduates earn $115,726 four years after completion, from 31 degrees awarded a year. Economics follows at $112,864, with 140 degrees awarded.

An estimated 39.4% 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.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $54,951
Median · reported: $91,758
Higher estimate: $112,210

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 Lafayette College 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.

That comparison is not reported for Lafayette College. 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 Lafayette College caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Lafayette College report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at Lafayette College are concentrated in engineering, but the largest programs by degrees awarded are in the social sciences. Chemical Engineering graduates earn a median of $115,726 four years after completion, from 31 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #6 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Economics is the largest single program, with 140 degrees awarded and median earnings of $112,864.

Azimuth ranks it #31 nationally. Psychology awards 66 degrees and posts more moderate earnings of $73,435, though Azimuth ranks it #11 nationally.

Mechanical Engineering graduates earn $101,348, with 63 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #32 nationally. The contrast between the highest-earning engineering fields and the larger social science programs shows how earnings vary by field of study.

Social Sciences accounts for 34.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded at Lafayette College, with Engineering at 20.0% and Biological Sciences at 12.1%. The college has 7 bachelor's programs that Azimuth ranks nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The largest single program is Economics, with 140 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #31 within its field, and completers earn a median of $112,864 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Chemical Engineering #6 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 31 degrees awarded and median earnings of $115,726. Psychology is ranked #11 by Azimuth nationally, with 66 degrees awarded, and completers earn $73,435.

Political Science is ranked #16 by Azimuth nationally, with 84 degrees awarded, and completers earn $87,904.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $54,951 to a typical outcome of $91,758 and an upside of $112,210. The spread reflects variation by field: Chemical Engineering graduates earn $115,726 four years out, while among the largest programs, Psychology sits at $73,435.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $91,758. That places Lafayette College in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, drawn from an earnings cohort of 308 completers.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from $54,951 on the downside to $112,210 on the upside. The typical scenario lands at the same median.

These figures are earnings scenarios, not observed groups of graduates. An estimated 39.4% 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.