NC State Career Outcomes: $76K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do NC State graduates earn?

The reported median is $75,943 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $10,333 per year.

Four years after completion, completers at North Carolina State University at Raleigh earn a median of $75,943. That is above the peer median of $65,610 among comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,333.

The median sits in the 84th percentile nationally, and the return overall lands in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,587 less than expects for similar students, a result in the 45th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,979. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,566. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $5,467.

The spread between the downside and upside scenarios is substantial, reflecting the range of programs at North Carolina State University at Raleigh. The downside earnings scenario lands at $53,483, while the upside scenario reaches $99,572.

The highest-earning programs include Computer Science, where completers earn a median of $113,478 four years after completion, and Computer Engineering, where completers earn $110,416. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awards 841 degrees and shows median earnings of $84,349.

An estimated 30.4% 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: $75,943
Rank for difference from expectations: 45th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

NC State reported median: $75,943
Peer schools comparable schools · $10,333 below NC State: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $2,587 above NC State: $78,530

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: $53,483
Median · reported: $75,943
Higher estimate: $99,572

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 NC State 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.

NC State graduates’ reported earnings are $2,587 below that expectation, the 45th 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 NC State caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at NC State report the highest earnings?

North Carolina State University at Raleigh awards bachelor's degrees across 64 fields with published four-year earnings, and Azimuth ranks 54 of them nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The highest-earning program, Computer Science, shows a median of $113,478 four years after completion, with 281 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #69 in the field.

Computer Engineering follows at $110,416 on 136 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management, the largest with 841 degrees awarded, reaches $84,349 and ranks #35 nationally.

Biology awards 415 degrees and reports a median of $61,384, placing #98 in its field.

North Carolina State University at Raleigh awards bachelor's degrees across 64 fields with published earnings data, and 54 hold a national Azimuth rank. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 841 degrees and ranks #35 nationally, with graduates earning a median of $84,349 four years after completion.

Computer Science is the highest-earning large program, with a median of $113,478 and 281 degrees awarded. The university's best nationally ranked program is Forestry at #1, which awarded 81 degrees and shows median earnings of $86,357.

Science, Technology and Society ranks #5 nationally and #1 in North Carolina, with 55 degrees awarded and a median of $67,468.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show a downside of $53,483, a typical outcome of $75,943, and an upside of $99,572. Among the largest programs, Computer Science reaches $113,478 at the high end, while Biology sits at $61,384 at the lower end.

Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, graduates of North Carolina State University at Raleigh earn a median of $75,943 four years after completion. That median falls at the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median draws on an earnings cohort of 6,075 completers. It sits $10,333 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $2,587 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $53,483 to $99,572, with $75,943 as the typical estimate.

An estimated 30.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. The median is above the peer group yet below what the model expects for similar students.

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.