Lake Superior State University Earnings: $57K (2026)

How much do Lake Superior State University graduates earn?

The reported median is $56,687 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $53,116 as its benchmark; the difference is $3,571 per year.

For Lake Superior State University, modeled earnings run above expectations, even as its return standing sits nearer the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,858 more than expects for similar students.

This earnings-beyond-expectations measure, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 62nd percentile. Azimuth places the university’s return in the 45th 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 $1,873. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $56,687 four years after completion, in the 38th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $53,116; the university’s median is $3,571 above it.

At Lake Superior State University, earnings scenarios span from $45,556 on the downside to $78,200 on the upside, with $56,687 as the typical scenario. These are earnings scenarios based on program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

Selected field medians four years after completion are $90,216 in Mechanical Engineering, $70,959 in Nursing, and $60,167 in Accounting. Those field results put the wider scenario range in practical context.

An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Earnings four years after completion cover federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, so those continuing study are outside that earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $56,687
Rank for difference from expectations: 62nd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Lake Superior State University reported median: $56,687
Peer schools comparable schools · $3,571 below Lake Superior State University: $53,116
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $1,858 below Lake Superior State University: $54,829

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: $45,556
Median · reported: $56,687
Higher estimate: $78,200

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 Lake Superior State 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.

Lake Superior State University graduates’ reported earnings are $1,858 above that expectation, the 62nd 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 Lake Superior State University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Lake Superior State University report the highest earnings?

Lake Superior State University has a clear earnings spread among its larger and higher-earning fields four years after completion. Mechanical Engineering sits at the upper end, with median earnings of $90,216 and 21 degrees awarded in one academic year.

Nursing also posts higher earnings, at $70,959, alongside 40 degrees awarded. Among more moderate-earning fields, Accounting records $60,167 with 14 degrees awarded, and Criminal Justice records $58,286 with 38 degrees awarded.

These figures show that the return picture can differ sharply by field, even among programs with substantial numbers of degrees awarded.

Program earnings range widely at Lake Superior State University, from fields with midrange pay to an engineering result well above the schoolwide median. Published earnings cover 7 bachelor’s programs.

Mechanical Engineering awarded 21 degrees and had median earnings of $90,216 four years after completion. Nursing awarded 40 degrees, with median earnings of $70,959.

Accounting awarded 14 degrees and posted $60,167 in median earnings. Criminal Justice awarded 38 degrees, with $58,286 in median earnings.

Business Administration and Management awarded 9 degrees and had median earnings of $53,396. The published figures show that field choice matters substantially here.

Further analysis

Program mix yields a wide modeled range: the downside earnings scenario is $45,556, the typical scenario is $56,687, and the upside scenario is $78,200. Mechanical Engineering reaches $90,216 four years after completion, whereas Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, is at $44,090. The spread shows variation by field, not observed groups.

At Lake Superior State University, graduates earn about $1,858 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is one favorable part of the outcomes picture.

Median earnings are $56,687 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that median in the 38th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 397 completers.

The typical earnings scenario matches the observed median, while downside and upside scenarios run from $45,556 to $78,200. An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Above-expected earnings coexist with a broad modeled range across program mixes.

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.