Graduates earn among the highest incomes nationally, with outcomes that significantly exceed peer expectations.
What graduates earn 10 years after enrollment.
Annual salary at 10 years
Lower quartile earnings
Upper quartile earnings
How graduate earnings grow in the decade after enrollment.
Lehigh graduates demonstrate steady earnings growth throughout the early-to-mid career period. Median earnings rise from $88,810 six years after enrollment to $97,731 at eight years and reach $105,584 at ten years, representing 18.9% growth from the six-year mark.
How outcomes compare to similar institutions.
Graduates from this institution significantly outperform peers — earnings are 67% higher than similar schools.
Financial justification for the investment.
Excellent affordability. Median debt of $21,960 is well under annual earnings, enabling comfortable repayment.
Lehigh graduates carry median debt of $21,960, which falls $2,221 below the peer median of $24,181, indicating controlled borrowing despite higher net prices. Debt levels span from $12,550 at the 25th percentile to $27,000 at the 75th percentile, reflecting the $14,450 range in borrowing patterns across different student financial situations.
Lehigh University achieves exceptional return on investment with performance at the 99.2nd percentile nationally, ranking among the highest we track. Graduates earn $13,481 beyond expectations compared to similar students, placing Lehigh at the 89.7th percentile for educational value creation and well above average for uplift performance.
Approximately 25.5% of graduates continue to graduate or professional study, indicating balanced preparation for both immediate workforce entry and ad...
Program mix explains much of the earnings story.
Lehigh's strongest earnings outcomes concentrate in business and engineering programs that drive institutional performance. Banking and Financial Support Services leads with median earnings of $107,260, followed by Computer Science at $106,799 and Computer Engineering at $102,472.
Business/Managerial Economics delivers $101,741 while Industrial Engineering produces $99,291, demonstrating consistent strength across multiple technical and business disciplines. Even traditionally lower-earning programs like Psychology ($60,072) and Biology ($52,512) achieve strong outcomes relative to national averages in their fields.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
Earnings outcomes show meaningful variation across career paths with concentrated high performance. The distribution spans from $72,507 at the 25th percentile to $148,926 at the 75th percentile, creating a 2.1:1 ratio that reflects program diversity while maintaining strong outcomes across disciplines.
